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Front And Center
Ray Zussman's Medal of _Honor takes its righ041 place.
HARRY KIRSBAUM
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On the web at
campcaen.engin.umich.edu
1 t's the highest medal awarded
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Ray Zussman's Medal of Honor Exhibit
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6/ 6
2003
to soldiers in battle.
Only 3,459 have been
awarded since 1861 for 3,454
separate acts of heroism performed by
3,440 individuals.
The medal awarded posthumously
to 2nd Lt. Ray Zussman- Michigan's
only Jewish soldier to receive one — is
the centerpiece of 'We Were There,"
the Jewish War Veterans of Michigan
exhibit at the Jewish Community
Center in West Bloomfield.
On Sept. 12, 1944, Zussman was
in command of two tanks operating
with an infantry company in the
attack on enemy forces occupying
the town of Noroy le Bourg, France.
When his command tank bogged
down, he led the group on foot.
Armed only with a carbine, and
returning from time to time from
patrol to designate targets, he direct
ed the action of the tank. killed 18
enemy soldiers and turned over to
the infantry 92 German soldiers he
had caused to surrender.
He died in battle three days later,
said his uncle, Milt Zussman of
Bloomfield Township.
Ray was a natural athlete, his uncle
said.
"He was a jock before the war," he
said. "He played football, tennis
everything he tried in sports he was
good at."
The medal has been in the
Zussman family possession for years
— Milt once loaned it to the Jewish
Wa,r Veterans Museum in
Washington, D.C., but it wasn't
placed prominently enough, he said
The medal will be permanently dis-
played at the JCC, but the city of
Hamtramck gets the medal for two
weeks a year, he said Ray Zussrnan
was born in Hamtramck, where a
library and a park now bear his name.
An urban combat training facility at
Ft. Knox in Kentucky also is named
after him.
On the JCC wall, the medal is cen-
tered amid portraits of Zussrnan,
newspaper clippings and the official
citation. The citation can also be
heard at the computer kiosk.
Robert Feldman, JWV of
Michigan commander, said, "Every
Jewish child should know this story
of incredible courage." I
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to the public by June 11.
Ray McFarland, JCC security offi-
cer, called the dedication "a beautiful
event."
A war veteran from Detroit, he said,
"People have been asking about it
every day."
Other JCC staff members and
health club members had a wide range
of views on the exhibit.
"It's so nice that it brings attention
that Jews served in the war. I think it's
so impressive and they did such a
beautiful job," said Judie Brown, a
health club staff member.
"I was very impressed with the pres-
entation, and very intrigued by the
photos because I recognized two peo-
ple," said Natalie Halperin Eichen of
West Bloomfield, a health club mem-
ber who happened to be at the Center
when the dedication took place. "I was
impressed with the layout and presen-
tation, and I found it very interesting."
Andy Pass of Farmington saw the
exhibit during the dedication. He lis-
tened to some veterans recollect per-
sonal memories.
"It was really awe-inspiring. They
put the exhibit in a very appropriate
place," he said. "If you have it in the
lobby, it takes away from the exhibit
because you can't stand there in soli-
tude for a few moments."
Joe Sterns, of White Lake, disagreed.
"I think it's wonderful, except I think
it's in a bad place," he said. "Unless
you're going to the track in the back, or
the swimming pool, you don't know it's
there. So I think 80 percent of the peo-
ple here, unless they're told, aren't going
to realize that it's there."
They both agree that the exhibit
isn't the sort of place where members
will linger.
"It's not the thing I'm going to hang
out at," said Pass. "I'm a teacher.
Should I ever happen to bring my stu-
dents here for anything, I'll take them
to the exhibit, but it's a one-shot deal."
Charles Kaye, 80, of Southfield, was
a noncommissioned officer who
fought in World War II, in the 4th
Infantry, earning a Bronze Star and
Purple Heart.
"I imagine the exhibit should be very
important and very meaningful, but I
don't know what it means to the
younger generation because I don't
think they have the compassion or the
empathy," he said, after the dedication.
"I don't think young people today are
cognizant of what it would have meant
had we lost that war, and we would
have lost our freedom."
Whether the exhibit evokes memories
from veterans, inspires viewers who make
a special trip to see it, or draws only a
glance by someone on the way to the
running track, it's in the public eye now
"We always felt that the memorial of
those who gave their lives for their
country belonged to the community
and not to the Jewish War Veterans,"
said Feldman. 'As a result of this exhib-
it, the story of the Michigan Jewish
War Veterans and the contribution that
they have made to our freedom will be
told and will never be forgotten." II