First, there was Moses Glushakow, who entered the U.S. Army right after graduating City College in Baltimore. He was awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star by the U.S. Army and the Croix de Guerre by the French Government.
Moses, usually called Moe, was assigned to the 34th Infantry Regiment of the famed Red Bull Division that fought its way up the Italian boot. He was always ferociously patriotic, a trait that showed itself in combat.
The citation awarding him the Silver Star notes that his courage and aggressiveness ‘reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.’ One might add that his conduct also reflected great credit on his family and the Jewish community in which he learned his values. The Jewish Educational Alliance (JEA) of Baltimore was a strong influence on the entire family.
The Silver Star citation notes that on October 7, 1944, during the Italian campaign, Moe spotted two enemy soldiers setting up a machine gun on the side of the road 30 yards to his front. He opened fire with his rifle, killing one and wounding the other, who was soon taken prisoner. Then, by himself and under constant fire, he advanced on a house held by the enemy. When he got within 25 yards of the house he threw grenades into it, forcing six of the enemy to surrender.
When his squad, to the rear, came under fire from an enemy machine gun, the citation says that Moe ‘laid harassing fire upon the position and allowed his squad to withdraw to safety. Finally, his position came under mortar and artillery fire and he was forced to rejoin his squad.’
Moe liked to joke that if he had known his squad was not right behind him, he would not have engaged in these solo heroics. But those who know him best say that his joking was a reflection of his modesty, not his courage.
Moe was not in a joking mood after hearing the Jew-baiting commentary of Pat Buchanan, who in 1990, during the run-up to the first Gulf War, wrote that “the fighting would be done by kids with names like McAllister, Murphy, Gonzales and Leroy Brown.”
The conservative journal National Review noted that “There is no way to read that sentence without concluding that Pat Buchanan was suggesting that American Jews manage to avoid personal military exposure…”
They might also consider the 52,000 medals for bravery awarded to Jews during that war.
And they would do well to brush up on their history and learn that American Jews have served and fought in every major battle, skirmish, expedition and war since colonial times. (During World War I, 250,000 Jews served in the armed forces – of whom 12,000 were wounded, 3,500 killed, and 1,100 awarded medals for bravery.)