The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-09-10
JEWS IN UNIFORM
By BEN SAMUEL (FrOm The Jewish Welfare Board)

The news from somewhere in the South Pacific" this week tells of an attack on 8 Japanese cargo ship by the American flying fortress, Chief Seattle. The bombardier of that plane is Sergeant Meyer Levin, of Brooklyn, N. Y. The planes pilot is Lieutenant Morris N. Friedman, of Grand Forks, N. D., and one of the crew of eight is 2nd Lieutenant Haskett Wexler of Chicago.
 It was Meyer Levin who, as a corporal, accompanied Captain Colin Kelly en a formation flight from the west coast to the Philip pines before the United States was at war, and who won the Distin- guished Flying Cross for his part in that flight. He is also the Meyer Levin who launched the bombs which sank the Japanese battleship Haruna, from a plane piloted by Captain Colin Kelly, who lost his life in the attack. Lieutenant Friedman also was with Kelly and Levin on that famous flight to the Philippines, receiving, in turn, the Distinguished Flying Cross. More over, Lieutenant Friedman again distinguished himself as a member of an army bomber command op- erating in the Philippines and Dutch East Indies, receiving the Silver Star from the War Depart ment for the heroiSm he displayed there.
 The crew of the Chief Seattle think they sank that cargo ship - they were flying too high to be sure. Levin, who had been making hit- and-run raids during the Battle of Java as matter of daily routine, says that he isn't sure whether he sank any ships in those raids but T got one in the Coral Sea Battle, or at least I got a beautiful hit, though I suppose I'll never know whether she sank or not" He de- scribes the ship as "a big fat 12,000 ton two-stacker passenger-cargo ship ard we found her" he says, right in the center of the convoy. When let go with a salvo of bombs we were up against the worst ack- ack I1re I've ever seen.
 On the way back to Australia, the fortress ran into bad weather and the captain ordered all hands to bail out. Tt was pitch dark" ac- cording to Levin, land as I floated down my chute cleared tree but hit it and scraped of few branches before I finally made painful landing right on top of big ant hill"
 Levin ran into the navigator somehow, and with the help of an Australian farmer they organized a search party for the others. Be- fore night we found every member of the crew." Sergeant Levin re- ports. None wos hurss." Except for slightly maimed wing, neither was the plane.
 You just can't keep a hero down.
 The United States is paying trib- ute to one of its heroes by naming new destroyer, now nearing com pletion on the Atlantic coast, the USS Jeffrey - in memory of En- sign Ira Well Jeffrey, the first war casualty from the city of Minneap- olis. Ensign Jeffrey died in action at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7-for at- tempting. by hand, to maintain an ammunition supply to the anti-air- craft guns of the USS California.
 
 A hero was rewarded this week by 6 certificate which neither the war nor the Navy Department could have supplied. To come right out with 1t, Lieutenant Harry Schreiher. recipient of the Order of the Purple Heart for heroism and wounds received in action in the Philippines. married his sweetheart. Rae Sternberg. the other day in Shreveport. La.
 Rae and Harry had set their wed- ding date for October 10. ie4l. Automobile accidents and wars in- tervened. however. After nearly a years wait, they are nov man and wife.
 The lieutenant and his former bTide-t -to-be set out in their ear for New orleans last Labor Day, but an accident occurred and Rae suffered a broken shoulder bone, among other injuries. By the time che Ras up and about, Lieutanant sehFeibeF had been traTisferFad from his base ln New orleans 10 Aibu. aneFaue, M. M. There sEili would have been time. butt the Japs had other plans. -Four days before the october ie wedding date the army had lo send eehFeibeF to the Philip pines 10 deal with the enemy. Harry had been a navigator for ilvp years, and you can't spare men Ike that ln wartime. Ia Eaiaon. last nacemw