World War I
When World War I broke out, the United States initially maintained a policy of isolationism, avoiding conflict while trying to negotiate peace between the warring nations. However, when a German U-boat sank the British liner Lusitania in 1915, with 128 Americans aboard, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson vowed, "America isn't too proud to fight" and demanded an end to attacks on passenger ships. Germany complied and Wilson unsuccessfully tried to mediate a settlement. He repeatedly warned that the U.S. would not tolerate unrestricted submarine warfare, in violation of international law. In 1917, three years after the first shots of the war were fired, the United States entered the war and by the end of the conflict more than 4.7 million American soldiers, sailors and Marines would fight in the war.
More than 250,000 Jewish Americans served in the armed forces during the war with more than 3,000 killed in action and another 12,000 being gassed or wounded.
One hundred twenty four people would eventually receive the Medal for their actions during the war, seven of them were Jewish. One of them, William Sawelson, received it posthumously, when he was killed by a machine gun attempting to assist another injured soldier. Another, Lieutenant Edouard Izac, was captured by a German submarine after it sank the ship he was on. He was then taken prisoner and brought aboard where he gathered information about German submarine movements and realizing the importance of the information, determined that he must escape. For his first escape attempt he jumped from a moving train, was recaptured and sent to a prison camp. On his second attempt he successfully escaped the prison camp and made his way through the mountains of southwestern Germany and then swam the Rhine River during the night with German sentries nearby.
This along with * indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously
- Note: Notes in quotations are derived or are copied from the official Medal of Honor citation
| Image | Name | Service | Rank | Place of action | Date of action | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gumpertz, Sydney G.Sydney G. Gumpertz | Army | E-07 !First Sergeant | Bois-de-Forges, France | 01918-09-29Sep 29, 1918 | "Gumpertz left the platoon of which he was in command and started with 2 other soldiers through a heavy barrage toward the machinegun nest. His 2 companions soon became casualties from bursting shells, but 1st Sgt. Gumpertz continued on alone in the face of direct fire from the machinegun, jumped into the nest and silenced the gun, capturing 9 of the crew." | ||
| Izac, EdouardEdouard Izac | Navy | O-03 !Lieutenant | Aboard German submarine U-90 as prisoner of war | 01918-10-08Oct 8, 1918 | After being captured after the ship he was on was sunk he gathered information about German submarine movements and risked his life to escape from detention as a German prisoner of war to get that information back to the allies. | ||
| — | Katz, Phillip C.Phillip C. Katz | Army | E-05 !Sergeant | near Eclisfontaine, France | 01918-09-26Sep 26, 1918 | "Voluntarily crossing an area swept by heavy machinegun fire, he advanced to where the wounded soldier lay and carried him to a place of safety." | |
| Kaufman, BenjaminBenjamin Kaufman | Army | E-08 !First Sergeant | Forest of Argonne, France | 01918-10-04Oct 4, 1918 | "He took out a patrol for the purpose of attacking an enemy machinegun which had checked the advance of his company. Before reaching the gun he became separated from his patrol and a machinegun bullet shattered his right arm. Without hesitation he advanced on the gun alone, throwing grenades with his left hand and charging with an empty pistol, taking one prisoner and scattering the crew, bringing the gun and prisoner back to the first-aid station." | ||
| — | Sampler, SamuelSamuel Sampler | Army | E-04 !Corporal | Near St. Etienne, France | 01918-10-08Oct 8, 1918 | After locating an enemy bunker that was inflicting severe casualties on his unit he rushed the position using handgrenades and neutralized the enemy bunker allowing his unit to continue its advance. | |
| — | Sawelson, WilliamWilliam Sawelson* | Army | E-05 !Sergeant | Grand-Pre, France | 01918-10-26Oct 26, 1918 | "Hearing a wounded man in a shell hole some distance away calling for water, Sgt. Sawelson, upon his own initiative, left shelter and crawled through heavy machinegun fire to where the man lay, giving him what water he had in his canteen. He then went back to his own shell hole, obtained more water, and was returning to the wounded man when he was killed by a machinegun bullet." | |
| — | Siegel, John OttoJohn Otto Siegel | Navy | E-05 !Boatswain's Mate Second Class | Aboard the USS Mohawk | 01918-11-01Nov 1, 1918 | Risked his life by making multiple trips into a burning and damaged ship to rescue injured crew. After rescuing 2 men he returned a third time as a steam pipe burst, making it impossible for him to escape and causing others to come and rescue him after he had been overcome by smoke. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Jewish Medal Of Honor Recipients
Famous quotes related to world war i:
“If the Third World War is fought with nuclear weapons, the fourth will be fought with bows and arrows.”
—Louis, 1st Earl Mountbatten Of Burma Mountbatten (1900–1979)