~ Pride ~ Honor ~ Valor ~ Sacrifice ~The Jewish Experience in the U.S. Military
True Stories and Oral Histories
Books by Howard J. Leavitt
Excerpt from Footsteps of DavidFirst Kill at Pearl Harbor
American Jews have served in the United States Marine Corps in all of our major conflicts and during peacetime. Although just one Jewish Marine, Samuel Gross (Margulies), won the Medal of Honor, there were others just as worthy who did not receive our country's highest decoration. Some, such as Samuel Glucksman and Meier Rothschild performed far above and beyond the call of duty to win the Navy Cross. Their exploits and derring-do were the equal of others who were recipients of the Medal of Honor. Some of the most renowned Marines of yesteryear, the legendary Lou Diamond of China and Guadalcanal fame, LeRoy Diamond, hero of Guadalcanal and model for the film Pride of the Marines, Major-General Melvin Krulewitch, veteran of four wars, boxing champion and hero of Guadalcanal, Barney Ross, Abe Daniels, who sank a Japanese destroyer in the Pacific after three of his squadron mates missed the target, flying ace Harold Segal, actor Harvey Keitel, actress Bea Arthur of Golden Girls, Lieutenant-General Robert Magnus, and famed writers Leon Uris and Art Buchwald are Jewish-Americans. Today, Jews continue to serve in the US Marine Corps. Their numbers are not impressive, but they serve, as proud as ever, in all of our bases, units, and detachments.
It is interesting to note that the first Japanese plane to be brought down at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, is credited to Bud Newman, a Jewish-American Marine.
His action is described in "The Pearl Buddha," an article in a journal of ham operators by Alex (call number WB6ZWG):
"There's no denying that Bud Newman ... KD6YUD, is 'looking good.' However, during the early hours of December 7, 1941, twenty-one year old Marine Corporal Lawrence Newman's face reflected confusion, anger, and fear. He was a witness to Japan's early assault on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
"Corporal Newman was returning to base from liberty in Honolulu as the Japanese planes were strafing everything in the area. He could see black smoke coming from the ships in the harbor as machine gun fire from a Jap plane killed a young Marine near him. Corporal Newman was so angered that he grabbed a 30 cal air-cooled machine gun from its tripod and emptied the ammo belt at the plane. The pilot was waving his fist at Bud as the plane burst into flames and exploded on impact when it crashed in Waipio Point.
Above: Douglas Dauntless as flown by Abe Daniels
"Two squadrons of single seat Japanese fighters roared over the base as low as twenty to twenty-five feet to avoid anti-aircraft fire. They attacked everything with machine gun fire, bombs, and torpedoes. After the attack, Corporal Newman went to the plane he had shot down. It was badly burned but Bud was able to remove one of the three propeller blades. He later had it inscribed with '...Here is the first Jap that did not get back. December 7, 1941, 8 am. Pearl Harbor T. Hawaii.'
"Corporal Newman's effort to ship his trophy home to Chicago proved to be a difficult task. After crating it, his valued trophy weighed one hundred twenty pounds (he didn't weigh much more). When he arrived at the ship, his valuable cargo was stored three decks down in the hold. On arriving in San Francisco, he had to haul it three decks up. At that point, Bud was thankful for that Marine Corps good conditioning. With his cargo on the dock, he still faced the problem of getting it to Chicago. Finally, the Salvation Army came to Bud's rescue and helped with transportation to the railway station. From there it traveled by Railway Express to the Windy City.
"Colonel Chester Fordney, Chicago recruiting director, posed for a picture with Corporal Newman and his prize propeller blade at the Treasury Center in Chicago. The picture gained wide distribution and considerable publicity for Bud and his Pearl Harbor trophy.
"Many years later, the Smithsonian Institution contacted Bud and offered to ship his war trophy to Washington if he would donate it to the Museum. However, they denied having funds available to provide round-trip tickets for Bud and Mrs. Newman so they could make a proper official presentation.
"Bud's valued souvenir remains in his garage. He tells me that he would be proud to show the propeller to anyone who is interested. As we move forward in time, Bud's famed trophy stands as a constant reminder of that tragic morning many years ago. It will continue to stimulate vivid memories until Bud Newman enlists in that great ham station in the sky. When Bud stands in final judgment before that great 'Control Operation,' he will hear these words...'Bud, you're looking good!...Over."'
(From Chapter 78)
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