The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-02-24
JEWS OF AMERICA.
IN THE WORLD WAR

That The Jews OF America have con-
trfouted more than their proporticuato
quota TO the armed forces of the United
States in the war IL shown in the off,
which has just been issued by the
American Jewish committee. through
It's Office OF war records, at 81 Union
Square, New York city.
While the report does not pretend
to be complete record Of the sctixi-
ties OF ali Jews who responded to tho
cali OF their country IL Is sunlclcntiy
comprehensive to indicate the impor-
tant part that they played. Tho total
number of Jews In the military and
naval service OF the United tSates Is
estimated at from ISS. 900 to 900, eno, or
from four to five per cent OF the total
personnel of the American forces at
the time the armistice was signed The
Jewish element in the GENERAL pcpuia-
ton OF the United States .s about threc
per cent The Jews OF America nave
therefore. according to these figures,
contributed at least one-third more
than their proportionAte shars.
THIS excss~ is ex3laines by the pres
| ence Of about $4,000 Jewish voluntee rs
Ia the service. Other contributing fac
tors were to he found in the more eff
fective operation of tire draft syst en-
in the thtckiy populated urban centers
CT the North and East, which happen
also to DE the centers of Jewish popu-
iation- and in the fact that the ma
jority Of exemptions Jon Industrial
grounds were chiefly In Agriculture.
mining and In the metal industries,
where Jews are not extensively en-
r1oyed
The files OF tire Office OF Jewish war
records aire-sy contain over 100000
individual records of which about So
600 have been minutely classified and
tabulated- The number Of Jewish COM
rrnsssfoTaess officers 'sc'9 far. recorded IN :
ciude s.1s3 In the army. aos in the
navy and forty in the marine corps.
1t is probable. however. that these
numbers will be more than doubled
when the record win finally be COM
pieted. The highest rank reached by
Jews Is that of brigadier- general In
the army and marine corps. and rear
ADMIRAL In the navy.
The readiness of American Jews to
fight for their country is shown by
the fact that Is per cent OF those in
the army were in the combat branches
while in the army as a whole only
abcut so per cent were In these
branches. Their casualties amount to
about io,co". OF whom probably 1900
were killed In action. Other evidence
OF the quality IT their courage IL
found IN the long list OF citations for
va!or furnished ir the report and In
the testimony of commanding officers
like General Bell. Leutenant-Colonel
Whittiesey and Captain Harrigan. who
trained the Jewish recruits in camp or
led them IN action.
From information now at hand
concludes the report. which is signed
BY Julian Leavitt, the director. ut has
become apparent that the record Of
Jewish war service. when fully de-
veioped, will demonstrate conciusively
that the same qualities which enabled
the Jew to survive through the CEN
turies-his capacity to endure. without
breaking. prolonged and intense nerve
strain; his initia tive, his elasticity Of
mind. HIS faculty for orgn nixation. and
above all. hts idealism-have also ena-
b.ed him to fit himself successfully into
democratic army fghting for world
democracy"