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the knowledge he would be subject to
active duty.
In 1961, he was activated and, with
his dental degree in tow, the newly-
weds found themselves at Fort Sam
Houston in San Antonio, Texas, where
Ed was assigned to the Army Medical
Department to begin basic training.
By spring of 1962, while stationed at
Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, he applied
for a regular Army commission. He
stuck with that decision despite having
faced anti-Semitism during his interview.
Ed recalled how an officer asked him,
“Why does a Jew boy want to make the
Army a career?”
Eventually, the Hirsch’s two children
would be born 9½ years apart during
two assignments at Fort Hood. Today,
Deborah is a mechanical engineer in
Wisconsin; Daniel, who retired as a full
colonel in Air Defense Artillery, is a
defense contractor in Washington, D.C.
Early in their marriage, Shirley vol-
unteered with the Red Cross, applying
the med-tech background she received
from West Virginia University. In the
early 1970s, she was Chief of Army
Community Services while her husband

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November 8 • 2018

jn

was stationed in Hawaii.
His skills led Ed to became part of the
Army’s elite Special Forces, more popu-
larly known as the Green Berets, which
included jump school training and tours
of duties with airborne groups from
North Carolina to the Panama Canal
Zone and Vietnam. “There’s not many
meshuggenah dentists that would jump
out of perfectly good airplanes ... 129
jumps to be exact,” Ed said.
The “dentist” was even asked to assist
surgeons in removing shrapnel. That
happened on his very first night in
Vietnam on the grounds of a Special
Forces unit. “There was only one sur-
geon in our unit, and he called upon my
ability and dexterity with my hands to
help in the procedures,” Ed said.
Not once did Ed mention any honors
he received. I’m glad I asked. He was
awarded his aforementioned Purple
Hearts, plus the Distinguished Service
Cross, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and
the Air Medal, among his 26 military
awards and decorations.
Next to the Medal of Honor, the
Distinguished Service Cross is our
nation’s highest honor, given to those

who have “displayed valor in the face of
the enemy, often courageously facing
overwhelming odds with devotion, espe-
cially to their fellow soldiers.”
After retiring from the Army in 1986,
Ed joined a practice outside Chicago,
but academia came calling. In 1988, he
accepted an assistant professorship in the
Department of General Dentistry at the
University of Detroit School of Dentistry.
Three months later, he became the asso-
ciate dean of its clinical program.
Before retiring from dentistry in 2002,
Ed served as the chief of dentistry at the
Detroit Medical Center and as executive
director of the Detroit Dental Society.
In retirement, he remains active with
military organizations, including in 2017
being appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder to
the Michigan Veterans Trust Fund Board
of Directors, which helps veterans with
temporary financial hardships. “I thank
Edward for his service on this board
as well as his commitment to ensuring
veterans and their families receive the
assistance they need,” Snyder said.
In his role as JWV commander, Ed
knows he has a battle of a different kind
to face. “We are fighting a war of attri-

Ed Hirsch in Vietnam on July 15,
1970, the day he was injured by a
rocket-propelled grenade

tion,” he said. “Our membership is aging,
but I’m committed to do everything in
my power to maintain the rich legacy
that is our state’s JWV department for
generations to come.”
Part of that commitment includes
remaining a visible part of community
celebrations. To that end, this Sunday,
Nov. 11, at 11 a.m., Commander Hirsch
and the JWV will proudly participate in
this year’s Detroit Veterans Day Parade
originating from Cass Park across from
Masonic Temple. This year’s parade
and ceremonies will commemorate the
original Armistice Day — the 100th year
anniversary of the end of WWI. ■