He obtained his degree from the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University. This was after his honorable discharge in 1919. Later, he raised three children and started a landscaping and greenhouse business in the city of Bronx.

Military valor

William Shemin had enlisted in the United States army on the 2nd of October 1917. He completed his basic training at North Carolina’s Camp Greene. Following the completion of his training, he was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division of the American Expeditionary Forces.

He served in France under Company G of the 47th Infantry Regiment. During his service as a rifleman between 7th and 9th August 1918, he showed exceptional bravery. Shemin had left the cover of his platoon to rescue the wounded. In this process, he was repeatedly exposing himself to the firing from rifles and heavy machine guns.

As many senior non-commissioned officers and several other officers had been killed, he took command of the platoon. He took all this initiative while under fire and was wounded on the 9th of August.

The Distinguished Service Cross

As a result of the wounds he had suffered while rescuing the wounded, he was hospitalized for three months. The injuries included the ones from a machine gun bullet and shrapnel. The bullet had pierced his helmet before getting lodged behind his left ear. After his recovery, he served on light duty in Belgium and Germany until the completion of his tour.

For his combat wounds, he received the Purple Heart. His valor in France won him the Distinguished Service Cross on the 19th of December 1919. The Distinguished Service Cross award was upgraded about 96 years later to the Medal of Honor.

Elsie’s efforts

Shemin died in the year 1973. About three decades after his death, his daughter came to know about a new review process for veterans. This was for the veterans from the Second World War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. They were the ones who might have been denied the Medal of Honor because of race or religion. Elsie Shemin-Roth wondered why the same process was not included for the veterans of World War I.

She then worked for years to expand the review process and get the case of her father revisited. Owing to her efforts, the William Shemin Jewish World War I Veterans Act was signed by President Barack Obama. This was done in the year 2011. Four years later, Elsie Shemin-Roth and her sister Ida Shemin traveled to Washington along with their other family members.

In a ceremony held at the White House, President Obama presented the posthumous Medal of Honor for William Shemin. Sergeant William Shemin’s story has been shared in museum exhibits since then. His story was also shared in a book about the winners of the Medal of Honor.

The post The Exceptional Gallantry of William Shemin appeared first on jewsingreen.com.

However, he felt the need for a growing military in the United States. The reason was the raging of the Great War in Europe. In an unofficial capacity, he started the recruitment of young American Jews and trained them for the military.

The Guard of Israel

As a member of Company H of the Fifth Massachusetts Infantry, he issued appeals in the Boston Jewish media. This was for the young men to join the ‘Guard of Israel’, an organization he had formed. It was headquartered in an ethnically diverse neighborhood in the West End. The neighborhood had a growing population of Jewish people.

One of the reports say that 75 men had enrolled in Riseman’s organization. His goal was to have 150 members in the Guard of Israel. He had talked about his earlier service in Texas during an interview. He said that he was willing to back the Jewish soldier against all for loyalty, sobriety, intelligence, and bravery. For over a thousand Jewish soldiers on the Mexican border, he had acted as a rabbi.

Having spent a considerable amount of time with these soldiers, he knew a lot about their abilities. They had responded well to discipline. These young soldiers had demonstrated this at the time of the Passover. They were given three days off for the Jewish holiday. All of them had returned at the end of the given time in sobriety and in good shape.

Riseman and family in World War I

The year 1917, marked the entry of the United States in the First World War. Bencin Riseman and his entire family stood up for the nation’s cause. He and his son Jay served in the 101st Infantry of the 26th Division in Europe. Another son of Bencin Riseman, Joseph, received his commission towards the end of World War I. Bencin’s daughter, Rita, was a nurse with the Red Cross.

In 1918, the 26th Division’s Jewish soldiers serving in Europe were in need of a Jewish chaplain. Riseman volunteered and was appointed chaplain for them. In his interview, he recalled getting the Jewish soldiers together in the woods. He had a shofar, some talaisim, and some prayer books. As soon as the prayers began, it started to rain.

At the end of the services, as he blew the shofar, the bugler sounded the Assembly Call. Riseman gave his blessings to the young soldiers, knowing that many of them probably won’t come back. When the bombs stopped, he went over in safety. When he looked back after crossing the section, he saw the bombs falling again.

Return from Europe

Towards the end of the war, Riseman returned from Europe. He continued the recruitments as Sergeant Riseman, but he had a broader focus this time. He ran the Lewiston, Maine recruiting station after joining the Army Recruiting Service. In the October 1920 issue, the U.S. Army Recruiting News acknowledged Riseman for his service.

The post The Contribution of Bencin Riseman in World War I appeared first on jewsingreen.com.

This led to the formation of Women’s Air Force Service Pilots or WASP. More than a thousand young women had to undergo training for flying B-26 and B-29 bombers. They also had to undergo training for testing new planes and flying shipments to the military bases from factories. Walt Disney’s creation of the WASP mascot appeared on the shoulder patch of these women.

Despite such a revolutionary thing happening, the records of the WASPs were never revealed for many years. This is why their contributions were inaccessible to historians. Very few people knew about about it. Here, we’ll discuss the contributions of two Jewish women who were a part of this historic event. They are Selma Cronan and Yetta Moskowitz.

Selma Cronan

Selma Kantor Cronan fell in love with flying airplanes from the time her mother took her on a kids’ airplane ride. In 1943, she received an invitation from Jacqueline Cochran, a legendary female aviation pioneer to join WASP. Her participation in flying competitions after the Second World War made her a competitive pilot.

During her interview at the age of 82, she said that all she cared about was her next flight. She expressed her disappointment with regards to discrimination against women in the days of her youth. While narrating the stories of women’s discrimination, she said that they didn’t even have a ladies’ room in the air bases.

Despite the discrimination that prevailed in those times, the women from WASP excelled in their pursuits. In the male-dominated society of the early 20th century, they made a name for themselves.

Yetta Moskowitz

In 1943, Yetta Moskowitz was fresh out of nursing school. She got enlisted as a flight nurse in the Army Nurse Corps. Before her deployment to the Philippines, she had to undergo training in the Air Force School of Air Evacuations. While serving in the Philippines, she helped in keeping about seven thousand troops alive. Later, this facilitated the transfer of these troops to the area hospitals.

The exceptional courage that she displayed under fire earned her a promotion . She became the chief nurse and first lieutenant of the 804th Medical Air Evacuation Squadron. She also received an air medal. This was for flying more than a hundred hours through combat zones.

Nurses were technically non-combatants even if they were serving in the war. So, they had to carry revolvers just in case they had to face the enemy troops. Moskowitz’s best friend was killed during one of the operations where wounded soldiers were being rescued.

The location of these combat zones were in New Guinea and the Philippines. Despite all the risks, Yetta Moskowitz brilliantly handled the evacuation of wounded soldiers in the Second World War.

The post A Highly Inspiring Tale of Two Jewish Women appeared first on jewsingreen.com.

Early years

Kades was born in the Newburgh city of New York State on the 12th of March 1906. He graduated from Cornell University and Harvard Law School. Later, he began working at the law firm of Hawkins, Delafield, and Wood in Manhattan. He was a municipal bond lawyer at this law firm.

Kades helped in the implementation of New Deal policies. He served as the Assistant General Counsel for Public Works Administration and the treasury department of the United States. During his long career, Kades handled several complex issues. During his private practice in New York, he specialized in matters related to taxation, bonds, banking, corporate, and estate.

He had also advised Governor Hugh L. Carey on Municipal Assistance Corporation’s creation and operation. The Municipal Assistance Corporation was instrumental in supervising New York City’s recovery from financial crisis.

Supervising Japan’s transformation

Nothing compares to the contribution that he made in the transition of Japan’s monarchy into a modern democracy. The impact of this was more than the cases he worked on and the deals that he made. After the Second World War, the Japanese Government was under tremendous pressure from the Allies.

They began revising the Meiji Constitution in late 1945. The details of the work from the drafting committee was leaked out in 1946. There was an immediate outcry upon seeing that it was just a slight rework of the old constitution. The Supreme Allied Commander, General Douglas MacArthur, had to intervene in order to set things right.

According to his order, his Government Section staff comprising 24 members would draft a constitution. Before arriving in Japan, Kades was a part of the general staff of the War Department. He participated in the invasion of France in 1944. He arrived in Japan a week before the country’s formal surrender. Later, he was in charge of a steering committee for drafting the new constitution of Japan.

In order to accomplish this mission, he worked day and night and even resolved many debates. The document that he came up with stripped the Japanese Emperor of his authority. Additionally, it established an elected government and guaranteed various civil rights. They included full equality for women.

Adoption of the new constitution

Kades presided over the negotiations with the Japanese authorities. This ultimately led to the adoption of the draft, which was prepared by America. In the draft, Kades composed a part on renunciation of war with the help of the notes of MacArthur. The new constitution came into effect on the 3rd of May, 1947.

It was highly effective in laying the foundation for the re-emergence of Japan as an economic power. Kades became immensely popular in Japan and was decorated by the United States army. In 1976, he retired from his law practice in New York. He was 90 years of age at the time of his death in 1996.

The post An American Jew Who Created a New Japan appeared first on jewsingreen.com.