Spanish Civil War
Fishman volunteered in New York City but was rejected for lack of military experience. He then applied again as a truck driver and was accepted provided that he recruit ten other volunteers. He did but none of them actually showed up, but he was accepted anyway.
Fishman arrived in Spain in April 1937 and began serving as a soldier in the George Washington Battalion. On July 5, 1937 during the Battle of Brunete near the village of Villanueva de la Cañada a sniper shot Fishman in the thigh, leaving 32 pieces of bone and metal. He spent a year in Spain recovering from his wound and was then evacuated back to New York, where he spent another two years in hospitals. He had a lifelong limp from his injury.
While he recuperated back in New York he worked with humanitarian organizations giving aid to civilian refugees of the war. He got a job in the warehouse of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee. At the same time he studied to become a licensed radio operator. This qualified him to join the Merchant Marine when the United States entered World War II.
Read more about this topic: Mosess Fishman
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