Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

70 | NOVEMBER 11 • 2021 

WWII Hero Barney Ross
V

eterans Day is Thursday. Every 
year, Nov. 11 is the day we 
honor all who have served in 
America’s armed forces.
Originally, this federal holiday 
was known as Armistice Day to 
commemorate the end of combat in 
World War I, on the anniversary of the 
signing of the Armistice on the 11th 
hour, of the 11th day, of the 
11th month of 1918. About 
225,000 American Jews 
served in WWI.
The name of this day of 
remembrance was changed 
to Veterans Day in 1954. 
By that time, another 
500,000 Jews had served in 
World War II.
To say the least, over the years, 
hundreds of thousands of American 
Jews have served in every branch of the 
military and fought in every war in which 
the United States was involved. Moreover, 
Jews have enlisted in higher per-capita 
numbers than the Jewish proportion of 
the American population at-large.
As you might imagine, the pages of 
the Detroit Jewish Chronicle and the JN in 
the William Davidson Digital Archive of 
Jewish Detroit History hold many articles 
about annual Armistice and Veterans Day 
celebrations, to say nothing of reports 
about the activities of various Jewish War 
Veterans posts and contemporary stories 
of Jews on duty. 
I was struck by a remarkable article 
for Veterans Day that was the cover 
story for the Nov. 8, 2002, issue of the JN: 
“Remembering a Fighter.
” This referred 
to the story of Barney Ross, one of the 
best boxers in history and a bona fide war 
hero. In 2002, the story of Ross was kept 
alive by his cousin, Al Rasof, who had 
himself served as a radioman and gunner 
on a B-17 Bomber during World War II. 
Although not well-known today, 
Barney Ross, along with baseball great 

Hank Greenberg, was one of the two 
most famous athletes of the 1930s. 
Born Dov-Ber “Beryl” David Rosofsky, 
Ross was a superb boxer and was the 
first to hold world titles in three weight 
divisions. He retired in 1938, but his 
fighting spirit led him to join the Marines 
in 1942 after the attack on Pearl Harbor. 
One night during the fierce and 
famous battle of Guadalcanal, Ross and 
three wounded Marines were trapped 
by Japanese soldiers. Severely wounded 
himself, he fought and killed 12 of the 
enemy, and then carried one 230-pound 
comrade to safety after the fight. Ross 
weighed about 140 pounds. He received 
the Silver Star for his bravery.
The saga of Barney Ross is spectacular, 
a story of pride for all Americans. But 
around us today are many men and 
women who have served in the Army, 
Air Force, Navy, Coast 
Guard and Marines. 
For great reading about 
veterans, see the writings 
of Alan Muskovitz. For 
example, in the Nov. 6, 
2014, JN, he wrote about 
two Jewish WWII vets, 
Marty Meyers and Art 
Fishman, on a “Honor 
Flight” to Washington, 
D.C. And see the Judy 
Greenwald report about 
Marty Levine and Ted 
Gittleman speaking to 
students at Farber Hebrew Day 
School about the importance 
of service to America (Nov. 24, 
2016). I could list hundreds of 
other articles from the Archive.
So, if you know a veteran, let 
them know that you appreciate 
their service to America. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN 
Foundation archives, available for 
free at www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

women who have served in the Army, 

students at Farber Hebrew Day 

