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