In 1915 Haiti saw several bloody changes in Government leadership. The result was an unstable and dangerous environment for American citizens, business and interests. A citizen led revolt overthrew and killed the brutal new dictator General Vilbrun Guillaume Sam within 6 months of seizing power. President Woodrow Wilson ordered the United States Marines to restore order and protect American property and lives. When the Marines arrived they began engaging the rebel Cacos and in a battle that ended at Fort Riviere, Haiti. It resulted in hand to hand combat and the Cacos were eliminated. After the battle six Marines received the Medal of Honor for their actions. These Marines included Dan Daly, Smedley Butler and the only Jewish Marine to ever receive the Medal, Samuel Marguiles. He received it under the name Samuel Gross.
When World War I broke out, the United States initially maintained a policy of isolationism. They avoided conflict while trying to negotiate peace between the warring nations. When a German U-boat sank the British liner "Lusitania" in 1915 there were 128 Americans aboard. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson vowed that "America isn't too proud to fight". He demanded an end to attacks on passenger ships. Germany complied and Wilson unsuccessfully tried to mediate a settlement. He repeatedly warned that the U.S. would not tolerate unrestricted submarine warfare, in violation of international law. In 1917, three years after the first shots of the war were fired, the United States entered the war. By the end of the conflict more than 4.7 million American soldiers, sailors and Marines would fight in the war.
More than 250,000 Jewish Americans served in the armed forces during the war. More than 3,000 killed in action and another 12,000 being gassed or wounded.
One hundred twenty four people would eventually receive the Medal for their actions during the war. Seven of them were Jewish. One of them was William Sawelson. He received it posthumously when he was killed by a machine gun attempting to assist another injured soldier. Lieutenant Edouard Izac was captured by a German submarine after it sank the ship he was on. He was then taken prisoner and brought aboard where he gathered information about German submarine movements. He realized the importance of the information and determined he must escape. For his first escape attempt he jumped from a moving train. He was recaptured and sent to a prison camp. On his second attempt he successfully escaped the prison camp and made his way through the mountains of southwestern Germany. He swam the Rhine River at night with German sentries nearby.
During World War II 16.1 million American service members served. It is estimated 650,000 of them were Jewish American men and women. More than 50,000 American Jews received medals during the war including five Medals of Honor.
Among the recipients were three Jewish Americans, Isadore S. Jachman, Ben L. Salomon and Raymond Zussman who all received it posthumously. Jachman and Salomon were both killed attempting to assist other fallen soldiers. Zussman's medal was received for risking his life on September 12, 1944. He was killed less than a month later before receiving it.
Korea was split into the two separate countries of North and South, Korea along the 38th parallel. Tensions between the two countries worsened when other countries began to get involved on both sides. The communist country of North Korea was supported by Russia, China and others. The democratic South was supported by the United Nations and the United States. In 1950 the United States got involved and over the next three years more than 1.5 million US service members would serve in Korea. During the three years of the war 133 Medals of Honor were presented. Although more than 150, 000 Jewish American men and women were serving in Korea at that time, not one received the Medal of Honor.
On July 23, 1950 Tibor Rubin was serving as a rifleman in Korea when his unit was forced to retreat. He was ordered to stay behind and keep the road open for the withdrawing unit. During the 24-hour battle he single-handedly fought off an overwhelming number of North Korean troops. He inflicted severe casualties on the attacking unit and assisted in the capture of many prisoners. A few months later Chinese forces staged a night-time assault on his unit and Rubin manned a machine gun allowing the unit to retreat southward. He again inflicted heavy casualties on the attacking unit. During the battle he was severely wounded and was eventually captured by Chinese forces. Although the Chinese offered to release him early and return him to his native Hungary, he refused. He remained a prisoner and risked his life repeatedly by sneaking out at night to get food and medical supplies for other wounded prisoners.
A 1993 study commissioned by the United States Army investigated racial discrimination in the awarding of medals. During the investigation it was determined that one Veteran American Jew and Holocaust survivor, Tibor Rubin, had been the subject of discrimination due to his religion and should have received the Medal of Honor. In 2005, 55 years later, President George W. Bush presented the Medal of Honor to Rubin in a ceremony at the White House, for his actions in 1950 during the Korean War.
The Vietnam War was a military conflict between the Communist-supported Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the United States-supported Republic of Vietnam. It started in 1959 and concluded April 30, 1975 with the defeat and failure of the United States foreign policy in Vietnam.
During the Vietnam War, 246 Medals of Honor were received, 154 of them posthumously. Two American Jews received the Medal, Jack H. Jacobs from the Army and John Levitow from the Air Force.
Lesley Ann Warren
Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946 in New York City) is an American movie and television actor. She starred in many television programs and movies. She was in "Color of Night" (which did poor at the box office). She also appeared on the television series "Will & Grace" and "Desperate Housewives".
Ted Tanouye
Ted Takayuki Tanouye (November 14, 1919 – September 6, 1944) was a United States Army soldier. He received the Medal of Honor because of his actions in World War II.
Tanouye was born in Torrence, California. His parents were Japanese immigrant parents. He was a "Nisei", which means that he was a second generation Japanese-American.
The Tanouye family was interned at the Jerome War Relocation Center near Jerome, Arkansas. and then they were moved to the camp at Rohwer War Relocation Center near Rohwer, Arkansas.
Two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Tanouye joined the US Army in February 1942.
Tanouye volunteered to be part of the all-"Nisei" 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This army unit was mostly made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland.
For his actions in July 1944, Tanouye was awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). In the 1990s, there was a review of service records of Asian Americans who received the DSC during World War II. Tanouye's award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the White House on June 21, 2000, he was presented with his medal by President Bill Clinton. Twenty-one other Asian Americans also received the medal during the ceremony, but only seven of them were still alive.
Tanouye's Medal of Honor recognized his conduct in fighting in northern Italy in 1944. Without the help of others, he attacked a series of enemy positions.
The words of Tanouye's citation explain: