Page Twen
THE JEWISH NEWS
Friday, May iI 1145
Medal of Honor Climaxes Family's Bole in 3 War
•
By Danny Raski*
As. a Russian sergeant in the
Russo-Jap War, Nathan Zussman
of 2918 Sturtevant, couldn't fore-
see that, in years to come, two
. of his sons also would be sol-
diers; that•,both would be officers
' in separate conflicts, 21 years
apart, with one being killed in
action and awarded the highest
military honor of his country.
•
For almost foils. years, Nathan
_ Zussman, now 76, was an in-
fantryman with the Russian
Army, wearing his highly-touted
sergeant stripes untie"skipping
out," as he says, to Danzig and
then America.
Joins Parade of Recruits
When World War I broke out,
a son, Abe, •was working in a
• shoe store in Washington and
. standing outhide watching a pa--
rade of recruits._ The fighting
- blood of his father boiled -within
him and without word or warn-
ing he jumped into a line and
was off to war.
He became a lieutenant, Mr.
Zussman recalled, and after f re-
ceiving wounds in action, re-
_ turned to become the first com-
Pfc. Julius Cohen
Killed En Route
To Visit Palestine
mender of the Julius , Rosenwald
-Post of the American Legion
here.
Another son was born to Na-
than Zussman and it was for
him • and millions of . other boys
that. Abe had fought to prevent
future wars. But it was for Ray-
mond Zussman to fight the war
to end all wars. .
Last week Lt. Raymond Zuss-
man reteived posthumously the
nation's, highest valor award, the
Congressional Medal of Honor.
It was the second such award to
a Detroiter and the sixth in
Michigan. Only 115 have been
awarded to . Americans in this
war.
Lt. Zussinan was killed in ac-
tion on Sept. 21, 1944, but what
he did will never die. ,
Rhone Valley Battle
The Medal of Honor was for
his action in the battle for the
village of Noroy Le Bourg, in
the Rhone Valley just a few
days before his death.
An instructor in street fight-
ing at Fort Knox, Ky., before
going overseas, Lt. Zussman was
a tank officer during the fight, resulted in the death of 17 ene-
and, when his tank bogged in a my soldiers and capture of 32,
field of mud, he abandoned it and the capture of two anti-tank
and moved ahead of another guns, a flak gun, two machine
guns and two trueks.
• Forced te abandon his own
tank, he seized a carbine and
attached himself to . a second
General Sherman, .directing it
through a booby-trap. road block.
He spotted an enemy machine
Wounded at Casino
gun nest. and under his direction
the tank's gunner blasted the em-
Lt. Zussman, was 23 when .h
placement, killing three 'Nazis entered service while -employed
and forcing eight othera to sur- as an assistant shipping clerk
render.
for Sams. He was 26 when
died. He was graduated fro
.Far From Through
Central High; attended Way.
Lt. Zussman was still far University and was a memb
from through. He pointed out a of the YPS of Shaarey Zedek
German jeep and soon theft He was- wounded at Casino an
more Nazis were dead and eight turned down a staff post
more captured. Zussman aban- headquarters so he could
remo
doned his empty carbine and in combat.
picked up a tommy gun and
Before being drafted in Sep
dashed- far ahead of the tank. tember, 1941, Lt. Zussman wa
Tommygun blazing, he COPitill- rejected by ' the Navy—beeaus
ued to lead the 'tank, directing he w ass
too short!
LT. RAYMOND ZUSSMAN • its five at a house and after
His father is former viee-
20 more prisoners and president of Mishkan Istuse
tank on - foot armed only with a capturing
turning them .over to Yank in-
carbine. He personally accounted fantrymen, he returned to the Synagogue. His brother, Abra
for or directed tank fire that house under a hail of grenades. ham, died- recently at the age cit
52.
Strafes Town Where He Was Born
Lane Brothers,
Wounded Twice,
Sgt. Garfinkiel Describes
Both Captains,
T-Sgt, Silverstein
His 1 : 9411 Mission Over Reich Hold a Reunion
Hopes. to Get Even
Returning to his birthplace, Gladbeck, Germarly, was sidney,
"The Jerries have paid m
Milton Mee+ in Paris;
one of the most satisfying experiences of his army career,
back twice for what I have bee
Dies in Air Crash on Feb. 23
on Way to Spend 15-Day
Furlough in Zion
according to S/Sgt. Henry 'Garfinkiel. A radio operator and
. The joy with which the farn-
. ily of Pfc. Julius Cohen had been
anticipating his tentative fur-
lough in . the States t was trans-
formed into grief when they re-
ceived word of hiS death on Feb.
_ 23, in a plane
crash in th e
- Medi terranean
area. He was
enroute to a 15:
. day furlough in:t:
Palestine.
A graduate of
Northern High
he was employ-
ed at the Eu-
r e k a Vacuum
Cleaner Co., be- Pfc. Cohen
fore entering service in March,
- 1943. He had been stationed at
- Romulus Field, attended the Ra-
dio Mechanics School at Madi-
son, Wis., and was returned to
Romulus. He had been overseas
- since last May.
A radio operator in the ATC
he had served on ships being fer-
ried to China, India, Brazil, An-
• glo-Egyptian Sudan and Egypt.
-He had.been based at Maiduguri,
Nigeria.
•
Pfc. Cohen, 24, was. married to
the former Miriam Berzaner.
Both she and his parents, Mr.
and Mrs. William. Cohen , reside
at 2005 W. Philadelphia.
S. Panush Promoted
To. Captain in China
.
Mrs. Sylvia Panush, of 15664
: LaSalle, has just received word
that her husband, Sol, stationed
at an advanced base in. China,
w a s promoted ,
ass.,
cm April 12 to •
the rank of
Captain:
In his latest
letter Capt, Pa-
nush describes
the seder whit
he conducted
for all Jewish
servicemen I n
h i s area, He Capt. Panush
previously h a d
made all of the arrangements
which ensured the success of the
seder. •
Capt. Panush,: son of Mr.. and
Mrs. Abraham Panush of 4026
W. Grand conducts. Sabbath. Eve
services for the 15 servicemen
who meet regularly each Friday
night. . • • •
SAMUEL M. BLITZSTEIN DIES
PHILADELPHIA (JPS)
—Samuel` M. Blitzstein, 65, for-
mer banker and•-father of. Marc
Blitzstein, the composer, died
here. Mr. Blitzstein was a part-
ner in the banking firm of M. L.
Blitzstein & Co. He was active in
the Russian War Relief appeal.
Soon 11 more Nazis surrender
to him. When tile tank finall
reached him, Lt. Zussman ' ha
bagged 15 prisoners.
He picked up 30 more prison
ers and Nazi equipment when
fearing a trap at the intersee
tion, he walked on alone.
toll of prisoners was elotle be
when the day ended.
waist gunner on - a Mustang, he 4's
asked the pilot to go down to high school and has been with
the 9th Air Force for one year.
tree top level from an altitu
de
.
Having
participated in 55
el 15,000 feet as Kr
bombing missions over France
they flew over
and Germany, he wears the Air
the town, and he
t Medal with two silver clusters, a
:-!ut loose with
'. good conduct ribbon and one in
two 50 caliber
diaating his participation_ in four
machine g u n s.
major campaigns in the Euro-
r Ii i s Occurred-
;
peen Theater of Operations. He
ai:
on S/Sgt. Gar-
also possesses the Presidential
:„
finkiel's
4 9 t la
Citation.
mission.
s:
His brother, Arnold. serves as
,,,,
-.Henry, 21,
an interpreter for the U. S. Army
:-t.
S.
J aime to the U.
* last heard of,
in Italy. When
k iel their parents were said to have
S. with his older Sgt. Garfin
brother, Arnold, in 1935. They been deported to Poland.
were in the group . of children
S/Sgt, Garfinkiel is on his way
brought to this aountry
y b the t o
- Santa Ana, Calif., for seas-
signment after spending a week's
Europea
n Jewish Children's De- furlough with his foster parents,
partment. He enlisted on Jan. 13, Mr. and Mrs. George Kahn of
1943, upon his graduation from 17377 Northlawn.
'5:;:
Lt. Lesser Returns
ter- 50 issions
—
-
'-
Lt. Irwin R. Lesser, who has
completed 50 missions as a navi-
gator in, the European theater of
operations, is home on a 30-day
leave, which he is spending with
h i s parents, Mr.
and Mrs: Jack
Lesser of 2524
Blaine.
At the end of
his leave, he
will go to Santa
Ana, Cal., for a
21-day'rest.'
With the 15th .
Air Force in
Italy, he is the
„es
possessor of the
Lt. Lesser
Air Medal, three Oak Leaf clus ,-
ters and the Presidential Cita-
tion.
A graduate of Central High,
he attended the
University of
Detroit.
A brother, Lt. (j.g.) Morton,
is a naval officer.
•
Chief W .-0 Rubens
Gets Bronze Star
"For demonstrating marked
initiative and ability . ....despite.
extremely adverse conditions
. . and distributing special serv-
ice supplies to units-- of the First
Army," reads the citation ac-
companying the Bronze Star
awarded to Chief W/O Ben
Rubens. The presentation was
made in. Germany by Gen:
Hodges. .
Rubens entered • service on
June 9, 1941, and went overseas
on Oct. 11, 1943. His wife, Eileen,
lives at 2561. Cortland with her
parents. .
Memorial Services
For Pfc. Mayer , at
Beth a . This Friday
Former Served in italian
and French Campaigns
•
Cpt.. Milton
Cpt. Sidney
Capt. Sidney Lane, on leave
from the 27th Evacuation Hospi-
tal of the U. S. 7th Army in Ger-
many, - recently visited his
brother, Capt. Milton Lane, su-
perintendent of an Army Hospi-
tal laboratory in Paris.
Both were born and educated
in Detroit and both attended the
United Hebrew Schools. Capt.
Milton, 31, was graduated from
the Detroit College of Medicine
in 1936, and practiced in Bay
City, where his wife, Judith, and
son, Larry, 2, now reside. He en-
listed in the Medical corps in
1942 and took the army course in
tropical diseases, techniques at
the University of Michigan.
Capt. Sidney, 30, is a 1937
graduate of the Detroit College
of Medicine and was Berrien
county Hospital, staff physician,
later becoming superintendent.
He enlisted in 1943, and served '
in Italian and French -campaigns
with the 7th Army.
The captains are the sons of
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Leven of
17577 Cherrylawn. Two sisters,
Evelyn, and Mrs. Mildred Bro-
ner, also reside in Detroit.
• —
Pfc. Seymour Mayer, '30,• who
was With the Engineers'. Corps.
of. Gen. Patton's ,Third Army,
died on April 11, as 'a result of
the wounds which he sustained
on March 20„the
war department "'•
infortned,his
w i f e, Eleanor,
Who resides at
21700 Sunnyside
Ave., St. Clair
Shores. He is the
son of . Mr. and
Mrs. Gustave ss
Mayer of 5313
.Crane Ave.. • He
also is survived
Pfc. Mayer
by a - daughter, Sharon, two
brothers and, one sister. • -
.• Pfc.- Mayer had been •in •serv-
ice...19 months and overseas eight
On April 6, .Mrs. Leah Singer
months. •
of 2643 Elmhurst received a tele-
Memorial tservicesswill be held - gram. correcting - a previous one
at Temple Beth El 'this Friday, at informing her that her son, - Sgt.
8:15:. p, rp. , Dr. R. Glazer offi Sidney,' was
ciating.
missing On Feb.
9. It was with
relief that she
Arnovits Promotecl .
learned of his
To . First. Lieutenant .
, . being a German
Word has been received of. the prisoner., •
promotion of Morton Arnovits to
A Cass High
first lieutenant. He is 'with' the geaduate, he at-.
5th -Army in Italy. • . • •
tended Wayne
Formerly a iinketrainer in- University f o
structor in the air corps, he en- three - years and
tered service in Atigust, 1941, was active in Sgt. Singer
and was commissioned at Ft. Sill, the Jewish. fraternity - there, prior
Okla., in May, 1943.
to enlisting in' March of 1942. He
Wounded on the Italian front s . had been a student of the United
he has been awarded the Purple Hebrew Schools and had assisted
1-leart. •
his •mother at the Singer Poultry
- Lt. Arnovits is the son of Mr: Co. during after school hours.. -•
and Mrs. M. S. Arnovits. His wife
A ,waist, gunner, he had com-
and daughter reside in Bayport, pleted more than half his mis-
Mich,
sions. when 'taken prisoner.
:Sgt. Sidney Sin- er
Prisoner of Germans
.
doing to them. But if they hay
the idea that they have - re].
al
hurt me, they
are wrong: I artantaas .
going back as
soon - as I can to
give them more
of my. - particul-
ar type , of hell."
This is an ex-
cerpt . from a
letter written
by T/Sgt. Louis
G. S
ersteinsgc. Silverstein
to his . parents; -
Mr. and Mrs. M. Silverstein- Of
2935 .Richton,' shortly after being
wounded a second time in 'Ger-
many. •
A graduate of Central High- • in
June, 1943, he was- active in the
ROTC.
He was .formerly:a member of
AZA and belonged to the Philo-. •
matic Debating Club. He had
been active in Habonim . prior to
his leaving for the armed forces,-
He- is the recipient of the Pur-
ple Heart, and • the. Oak Leaf
Cluster.
Lt. Ralph Pearlman
Promoted in France
Lt. Ralph Pearlman, 22, had
good news to relate to his father,
Max Pearlman of 8500 Midgarden
Pl. In a recent letter he tells of
having been promoted to first
lieutenant. H e
is an escort
fighter pilot
based 'in Fiance.
Lt. Pearlman,
an auto me,
chanic, is a
graduate of
Northern High
and had attend
ed Wayne for
two years. He
enlisted on Nov. Lt. Pearlman
8, ,1942, and was commissioned
on Feb. 14. 1943.
He also writes of his successful
encounter with an enemy plane
and tells of a softball team which
they have organized at his base.
Canadians Liberate
Poplack in Holland
Lt. William J. Poplack, , a Ma-,
rauder pilot who was reported
'missing over Germany on March
22, • has been liberated by the
Canadians after being held *
prisoner by the Germans•in Hol-
land. He now is confined to a
hospital in England recuperating'
from injuries. •
U. Poplack's . wife, Eleanor,
resides with her parents; Mr. and •
Mrs.: Samuel . Wolf, on Parkside
Ave. His parents, Mr. and Mrs.
George Poplack, .live on, Indiana
Ave. A brother,. Richard, is serv- -
Mg. with the Navy-.