Detroit's Spanish War Veterans Battle of '98 Still Vivid to Oldest U.S. GI's By FRANK SIMONS The year just past; having been celebrated as the Amer- ican Jewish Tercentenary — the 300th year of Jewish colonization in the United States -- we, as Jews, have learned a great deal about .fur heritage - in this .country. We learned 'for one thing of the great record Of Jewish . servicemen in all of America's wars. Many years have gone. since the last Jewish veteran of the Civil War passed away, and now the granddaddy of American veterans - is considered the Span-. ish American War Vet, • - • Although the ranks of this ,group also -has been thinned- in recent years, there still are a few Detroit Jews • who remember, their part during the war years.' From . David A. Brown, -who now spends much of his time in California, we learn that fol- lowing the sinking of the Maine, the American battleship, in Cuba Harbor, there w _ ere two calls for VOlunteers. Brow _n - served with the first wave of volunteers, joining -the ;Detroit Light Infantry on April 28, 1898 and being sworn into .iNfhhe U.: S. ArmY Company L, 32nd Michigan Regiment on May - 13, Company G, of the 30th U.S. Infantry, gathers in full dress for a group picture. Taken in 1903, in the Philippine Islands where the company was stationed, it is a fond remembrance of Detroiter Ben Shiffman, who is shown second from- the right in the ton row. In the front row is l898. Joining also in the first gra-up was Moe Hart, who served in the •same regiment, and a Mr. May, of Grand Rapids, who later was a member of the Detroit firm of Selling and May. • Louis Mary- Mont, who married a member of the RothSchild family, served in the Navy with a Detroit group, Brown said. Messrs Hart and May have passed away, but Marymont has been for quite some time a patient at SaWtel Veterans Hospital, in Los Angeles, Calif., Brawn re-. lates. In the second batch of vol- unteers, the only Jewish boy known to have volunteered was Sam Slater, of one of Detroit's long-time families, who Brown believes- also was a member of the same regiment. "Our regiment never got into fighting,!" Brown says. "About the only fighting we did was to kill millions of mosquitoes.". The group was prepared -to go frbm Island Lake, Mich., to Cuba, but at the last moment the 79th of New York took its place. The group was • mustered out in late. September _of 18,96, from Island Lake; There to meet the men at the depot was Julius Ber- man, a young member of the National Guard who later served as an officer in ,World War, I. Not wishing to delve _into his- story, we must nevertheless relate a few historic events to explain how another Detroiter, Pvt. Ben Shiffman, wound up in the Philip- pine Islands in 1901. • During the war, U. S. forces quickly mopped up Spanish forces on Cuba and captured Puerto Rico without a fight. Half-Way around the world, Admiral George Dewey defeat- ed the gpanish Navy in Manilla harbor, ending the Spanish rule and 'leaving the U. S. in possession of the islands. Prior to this turn of events, however, the • Philippine natives were keyed up to revolt against the Spaniards, and they carried out this desire for independence against the U. S., even though Inany of the Philippinos had aided in the American victory against Spain. T,echnically labeled the Philip- pine Insurrection, the revolt ad- tually was a seeond phase of the Spanish American War and vet- erans of this action were entitled • to membership in the Spanish AMerican War Veterans. pvt: Ben Shiffman enlisted at Elmira, N. Y. at the age, of 17, falsifying his age as 21 in order 4 serve. Without training of any to kind, his • outfit, G Company of the 30th IL S. Infantry, • was sent . Three years ago, as Co. G celebrated its 50th reunion, in Clear Lake, Ind., a much more familiar George C. Marshall (third from right), pauses' to have another picture taken with members of his old outfit. Included among them is Ben Shiffman (second from left). the company's executive officer, Lt. G. C. Marshall, at .that time fresh out of Virginia Military Institute. In World -War: II, he was better known :as George C. Marshall, General of the American Army, one of the great Allied military leaders. • which he joined in 1944. A menthe': of JWV'S 'Lt. Eli Levin Post 230, Shiffman has been especially active in hosPital work since he joined. TWo yearS ago, he was • appointed. by JWV to • the Veterans Administration Voluntary Service Committer In the lhtter capacity he, along with his wife, who is hoSpital Chairman of the Levin - Auxiliary, ,help to make • life- more enjoy- able for the hospitalized veteran. Included in these activities are outings to such events as the air show, holiday parties in the veterans hospitals, trips to Tiger baseball games and always gifts, refreshments and entertainment.' Recently Shiffrnan was award- ed a plaque for his service to the organization and was voted an honorary life membership by the Department of Michigan JWV. In addition to his veterans work, Shiffman is a past chancel- lor commander of Knights of Pythias, to which he has be- longed since 1917, and Perfection Lodge, F.&A.M., in which he will celebrate his 40th year in 1956. As for Mr. Brown, who later this year will celebrate his 80th birthday, that venerable gentle- man is still crossing the coun•- try on visits to family and friends, while thinking seriously of writing a book about JeWs in Detroit during the early 20th Century. dyssentary. When he enlisted, Shiffman weighed 145 pounds, and was down to 82 at one time during the siege of sick- ness. Every year since his discharge, Shiffnian has attended a reunion of his old Spanish American War company where such incidents are - related as the time someone shot off a musket in the camp and when no would admit guilt, the whole company was sent to the priSon island to stand duty for three' manths. • The highlight of these yearly get-togethers came in 1952 when Gen. • George C. Marshall attended the outfit's reunion, • Marshall's first assignment after hiS com- pletion: of training at Virginia Military: Institute was as a sec- ond lieutenant and executive of- ficer of Co. G. Shiffman was one of four other Men to meet Gen. Marshall at his plane when it arrived- and escort hirn to Clear Lake, Ind., the scene of the convention. One of Shiffmari's major Plea- sures since - his retirement is traveling• about • to see his old bUddies, although he says each Month the list of obitUary notices in the organization's publication gets longer. Another of Shiffman's great joys in life is serving his fellow veterans, and this he does through' the Jewish War Veterans • • apanese Convert a Citizen of Israel attend services on the Sabbath. In conformity with the Jewish The iron determination of a tradition, the Jewish Chiplain young Japanese, Hiroshi Anko- firSt explained to Hiroshi the moti, to become a Jew and mi- hardships of the Jewish race in grate • to Israel caused quite a the world and what difficulties commotion in official Israeli cir- awaited 'hirri if he should decide to cast his lot with Israel. But des: The Japanese youth is a grad- to • no avail. He was determined uate of the University of Japan, to become a Jew. Noting - his • determination to and a student* of, religion. He arrived at his decision only _after be a Jew and a Zionist, the a careful and comprehensive Chaplain introduced Hiroshi to officials in the Israel Embassy. study of the Old Testament. Greatly moved by Hiroshi's During the war he saw serv- ice in the Japanese fleet. After sincerity, the Jewish Chaplain the disaster of Hiroshima and sent a personal letter to Israel's Nagasaki, followed by the' Japan- Minister of Religion and- Wel- ese surrender, he • felt lost: He fare, Moses Shapiro, and asked began , to search for something him to do something for' this to live for—"to fill the vacancy Japanese Ger Zedek. As a re-- suit, an appeal was made to the of my soul." A Protestant minister pre- Foreign Ministry to facilitate sented him with an Old Testa- the "homecoming of the new son ment. He studied it day and of Israer_ and to aid him in his further study of Judaism in a night. • Hiroshi began to search and religious school in the Holy delve into Judaism. It proved Land. Chief Rabbi I. Herzog gave his somewhat difficult, since there were few books in Japan on the approval to receive the young Jewish religion. He contacted- Ger from Japan under the the Jewish Chaplain stationed "Wings of the Shechina accord.- in Tokyo and began to take He- ing to the faith of Moses and brew lessons. He also began to Israel." Today, Hiroshi Ankomoti, iti 92—DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Israel citizen and a good Jew, is By DR. BEN MARCUS (An AJP Feature) • An up-to-date picture of David A. Brown, one of De- troit's few, remaining Spanish- American War veterans and one of the city's best known philan- thropists and businessmen. What the well-dressed soldier in the Spanish-American War would wear is demonstrated by young Pvt. Ben" Shiffman, as he poses beneath a barricade in the Philippine Islands. to San Francisco and boarded the cattle boat Indiana sailing for Manila. ' He enlisted on'-*Feb. 5, 1901 and by April of that year was in the Philippines. Three years later at Corregidor, the fortress which be- came so famous in World War II, Shiffman was discharged. During the Insurrection, Shiff- man's unit guarded Water Works Park outside Manila, and did not rnishes With Philippine guerilla fighters. Although their leader, Emilio AgUirialdo was 'captured in 1901, the battles continued until 1902. Despite the comparative. "safe assignment," which always bore the threat of possible attack, the soldiers were in constant danger of illness. participate in any of the skir-, Shiffman, himself, spent eight months in 'an Army hospital suffering from malaria and Friday, September 16, 1955 the happiest man in the world!