A Walk Down Memory Lane by Avi Heiligman

Forgotten Her es

A Walk Down Memory Lane

By Avi Heiligman

Many people have a passion for learning about military history and the ways warfare evolved through the ages. Generals and other heroes are often talked about in history class, but the vast majority of soldiers, sailors, marines, servicemen and servicewomen are overlooked. For over a decade, this column sought out the stories of many of these forgotten heroes. In fact, this is the 500th article of “Forgotten Heroes,” and in that vein, I would like to share some the favorite heroes that I have covered in the past.

The first three “Forgotten Heroes” articles were all based on one man who refused to join the military. In recent years, the Moe Berg story has been told, but there are many parts to his spying career that are rarely told.

Berg was born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Manhattan and had a passion for both baseball and academics. He played baseball in the majors for several years, all while becoming a lawyer. At the start of World War II, he joined the OSS (precursor to the CIA).

Moe’s first big assignment was to evaluate the political situation in Yugoslavia. Berg met with leaders of both parties and sent back his report to William Donovan. Moe informed the OSS chief that the Communist partisans under Marshal Tito were stronger in force than the loyalists to the king and had the backing of

Moe Berg Zvika Greengold, left, with Lt. Col. Aryeh Berger, commander of the 74th Armored Battalion

the people. On his way to another important assignment in Switzerland, Berg stopped in Florence, Italy. Dressed as a German officer speaking a specific dialect of German and garnering salutes from German soldiers, he walked around the Galileo munitions factory taking mental notes which he passed on to his superiors. After hearing a lecture from the top German scientist, Moe came to the conclusion that the Nazis were not close to building an atomic bomb. This crucial piece of intelligence was immediately forwarded to the U.S. president who then sent his regards to the catcher. Zvika Greengold was a 21-yearold tank lieutenant on reserve when the Arabs launched a surprise attack at the start of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. He quickly put on his uniform and hitchhiked to the northern front in the Golan Heights. Most of the tanks in the Golan were badly damaged, and only a few were in any shape to continue fighting. When he arrived on the battlefield, Zvika got in one of the tanks that was still running and led another two tanks into battle. By 9 PM, he went to join the Barak Brigade – the second-in-command called him “Zvika Force.” Other tank crews heard that Zvika Force was coming and

were greatly relieved. Little did they realize that it was a three-tank formation that was coming to assist in beat-up tanks. Soon it was just Zvika and his crew left fighting. He shot at a silhouette of a tank, and it burst into flames and then destroyed three more in succession. Jacob Farj Rafael Jacob with Indian Prime Zvika played cat-andMinister Narendra Modi mouse with an advancing Syrian column, ducking behind natural boundaries as well as shot-up tanks. He destroyed several more tanks and moved to the slopes where only the gun and the turret of the tank were visible, thus making him a very small target. After an hour, the Syrians retreated, and his kill figure reached double digits. Things got tougher at Lydia Litvyak that point, as more Israeli tanks tried to join his force but were ambushed. Then, Zvika’s own tank was hit, and his driver was killed. Despite his wounds, Zvika got into another tank and kept on fighting. Even though the Syrians had the upper hand at this point in the battle, they stopped advancing and the Israelis were finally able to bring up more reinforcements. Zvika was sent to a hospital to recover from his wounds and was given the Medal of Valor for his actions during the battle. Jacob Farj Rafael Jacob was born in 1923 in British-controlled India and served in the British Army during World War II. He graduated from officer school and, while

serving in India, met the eccentric general Orde Wingate. Wingate, who was not Jewish, had helped the Jews living in Eretz Yisrael in the 1930s create a military strategy and defenses.

Jacob stayed in the military after the war and by 1969 was a major general. Two later, during the India-Pakistan War, he orchestrated a surrender for the Pakistani troops. Unarmed and accompanied by only one staff officer, he flew to Dhaka. Jacob told the Pakistani that he had a half an hour to decide on their surrender or the Indians would be coming to Dhaka to destroy the enemy. While the general was contemplating the surrender, Jacob went outside and said Shema Yisrael. The truth was that Jacob had but 3,000 men some 30 miles away, and they were up against 93,000 Pakistani troops. Against all odds, the bluff worked. All of the Pakistani soldiers in the area surrendered, and Jacob became the hero of the war.

Lydia Litvyak was a Russian Jewish airwoman from Moscow who began flying when she was just 14 years old. When the war began, she joined the all-female 586th Fighter Regiment. Flying the reliable and versatile Yak-1, Lydia became the first female to attain the tile of ace. Altogether, she shot down twelve Nazi planes – this number still stands as the record holder for all female pilots in history.

Known as the White Rose of Stalingrad, Lydia saw combat for one year with a Junkers Ju-88 multipurpose aircraft as her first kill. Her next kill was a Messerschmitt Bf-109 flown by ace pilot Erwin Maier who had eleven kills to his name.

On August 1, 1943, Litvyak did not return from a mission over the Ukraine. The 21-year-old had been seen by a fellow Soviet pilot in her smoking plane after a dogfight with Bf-109s. Lydia was awarded many titles and medals and is considered the best female fighter pilot in history.

Prussian-born Abraham Cohn,

who had entered the Civil War as a private with the 68th New York Infantry Regiment, rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant and distinguished himself during a battle known as The Crater. In eleven engagements, he was wounded twice. The Battle of the Wilderness took place in Virginia by which time Cohn was with the 6th New Hampshire Regiment. His commanding officer ordered him to gather as many soldiers as he could and lead a counterattack. As the rebels advanced, they ran into the 6th New Hampshire’s lines and were stopped. Cohn had to cajole and beg retreating soldiers to join him, and with this ragtag force, he managed to stem the attack. Confederate General Longstreet’s advance was stopped, and the Union flank was saved.

Cohn’s Medal of Honor citation simply reads: “During Battle of the Wilderness (Cohn) rallied and formed, under heavy fire, disorganized and fleeing troops of different regiments. At Petersburg, Va., July 30, 1864, (he) bravely and coolly carried orders to the advanced line under severe fire.”

These are a sampling of some of our favorite forgotten heroes who have been featured in this column. There are many others that we will recap in future articles.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

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