Jewish Contributions to Humanity

#2 in a series

National Recognition

WWII veteran and philanthropist
Morton Harris honored as a Churchill Fellow.

They Made
Serving America
Their Top Mission.

NATALIE STAVALE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

URIAH LEVY (1792-1862).

D

etroit native Morton E.
“Mort” Harris, 97, is a suc-
cessful businessman, entre-
preneur, noted philanthropist and a
decorated World War II veteran. He’s
also now a Churchill Fellow.
Harris recently was inducted into
the Association of Churchill Fellows
at the National Churchill Museum
on the campus of Westminster
College in Fulton, Mo., during the
Churchill Fellows Weekend, an
annual event where a national
expert on Churchill delivers the Enid
and R. Crosby Kemper Lecture and
new Churchill Fellows are inducted.
“I am highly honored to be named
a Churchill Fellow,” Harris said.
“World War II was about a relent-
less fight for freedom against a
well-armed enemy. At the outset, a
successful outcome was uncertain.
Churchill’s voice gave us hope. His
courage was contagious.”
The Association of Churchill
Fellows, founded in 1969, is an
honorary society of people dedi-
cated to the development and use
of the National Churchill Museum
at Westminster College, where Sir
Winston Churchill delivered his his-
toric “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946,
which marked the beginning of the
“Cold War” with what was then the
Soviet Union. Past Fellows induct-
ees include Churchill’s grandson,
Winston Churchill, Walter Cronkite,
President Dwight D. Eisenhower,
British Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher and Sir Martin Gilbert.
Four other prominent leaders
also were named Churchill Fellows
alongside Harris, including Metro
Detroiter William Clark Durant
III, president of the New Common
School Foundation, co-founder and
former CEO of Cornerstone Schools
in Detroit.
“I am honored beyond measure to
have been inducted into the Society
of Churchill Fellows alongside my
dear friend Mort, a genuine World
War II Air Force pilot hero in the
European theater,” Durant said. “I
was a captain in the Army in the ’70s
and my dad, now deceased, was an

Army captain in the Pacific in World
War II. It is continually important to
remind young people that freedom
is not free.”
Durant also attended the
Churchill Fellows Weekend
and brought two students from
Cornerstone Health + Technology
High School: junior Gevon
Clemons and senior DaLayna
Mitchell, both of Detroit. They got
to meet Harris and learn of the
historical importance and current
relevance of Winston Churchill at
the very location of his historic
address in 1946, given in the pres-
ence of President Harry S. Truman.
Clemons and Mitchell were select-
ed for their academic excellence
and interest in history.
His Excellency Ron Dermer, the
Israeli Ambassador to the United
States, delivered this year’s lecture
on the topic of “Churchill and Israel”
in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin,
Aldermanbury, a 17th-century
Christopher Wren church in London
that was bombed in 1940 during
the German blitzkrieg at the start
of World War II and re-dedicated in
1969 at Westminster College to com-
memorate the 20th anniversary of
Churchill’s now-famous speech.
“My experience during the
Churchill Fellows Weekend was truly
amazing. The knowledge I gained
on this trip will stay with me beyond
high school,” Mitchell said. “Learning
about Winston Churchill has inspired
me to work harder, help motivate
others and make a difference in the
world. Israeli Ambassador Dermer
is a remarkable individual and an
incredible speaker. I was honored
to hear his lecture, as well as meet
a World War II veteran, Mr. Mort
Harris, who shared with me details of
his journey throughout the war.”
Clemons said, “This was an experi-
ence of a lifetime. Churchill was not
just a man, but also a true hero. I
learned firsthand from Ambassador
Dermer that Churchill provided
tremendous support to the Jewish
people as they struggled to create
Israel.”

continued on page 18

b. Philadelphia, PA. d. New York, NY.
Strengthening America in its earliest years.
Born in Philadelphia just five years after the Constitutional Con-
vention, Captain Uriah Levy was the U.S. Navy’s first Jewish Com-
modore, a successful real estate investor and philanthropist to Jewish
causes, a veteran of the War of 1812, and a major admirer of Thomas
Jefferson, ultimately purchasing his Monticello estate. At 14, Levy ap-
prenticed as a sailor and fought in the Barbary Wars, later volunteer-
ing at 21 for the War of 1812. His ship intercepted British ships in the
English Channel, until his own ship was attacked. Levy was captured
and was held prisoner for 16 months. Levy led the fight from within
the Navy to ban corporal punishment, and was even dismissed for
refusing to flog one of his subordinates, only to be reinstated by President John Tyler. An
admirer of Thomas Jefferson and his understanding of religious liberty, Levy purchased his
Monticello estate (which was in poor condition) for $2,700 in 1834, restored it, and left it to
the federal government upon his death in 1862 so that Americans would be able to enjoy
the home of one of its Founding Fathers.

MAURICE ROSE (1899-1945).
b. Middletown, CT. d. Paderborn, Germany.

Serving America honorably in the 20th century’s two great wars.
A veteran of both World War I and World War II,
Rose was the highest ranking American officer to be
killed in action in Europe during World II, and the high-
est ranking Jewish officer in the U.S. Army. Growing up
in Denver the son of an immigrant Polish rabbi, Rose
long wanted to serve in combat, graduating from offi-
cer candidate school in 1917, and serving with the 87th
Infantry Division in France, where he was wounded. In
World War II, Rose served in North Africa, Sicily, and
with the Third Armored Division in France, Belgium and Germany, eventually rising to
the rank of major general. Rose was killed towards the end of the war when, as he and
his staff were surrounded by enemy German tanks and troops, Rose exited his jeep
with arms raised, but a Nazi soldier shot and killed the general, sparking uproar in the
United States and garnering front-page news coverage. Rose was a hometown hero,
particularly among Denver’s Jewish community, which raised funds for a hospital in his
memory, now named the Rose Medical Center.

JUDITH RESNIK (1949-1986).

b. Akron, OH. d. Cape Canaveral, FL.
A short life, but one of distinction and service.
The first Jewish and second female astronaut in space, Judith
Resnik was a specialist on the first voyage of the Space Shuttle Dis-
covery. Resnik was a math and engineering wizard, earning a Ph.D.
in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland, and going
on to work for RCA, the National Institutes of Health and Xerox. She
was one of six women NASA chose for space flight in 1978 among
more than 8,000 applicants. Resnik died on Jan. 28, 1986 aboard
the Space Shuttle Challenger when, 73 seconds into flight above the
Kennedy Space Center, a mechanical failure led to a shocking explo-
sion on live television, which killed all seven crewmembers. She was
remembered for being gregarious during recorded broadcasts, operating Discovery’s long
robotic arm, and even holding up a “Hi Dad” poster for the camera.

Original Research by Walter L. Field Sponsored by Irwin S. Field Written by Jared Sichel

jn

June 14 • 2018

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