Illustration by Art Seiden Florida Atlantic University Libraries Jewish Heroes and Heroines in America from Colonial Times to 1900: Jews Who Served With Honor In The Spanish-American War by Seymour "Sy" Brody When the battleship MAINE was sunk on February 15, 1898, there were 15 Jewish sailors who went down with the ship. The executive officer of the MAINE, and later a vice admiral in the United States Navy, was Adolph Marix, a Jew. Marix was the chairman of a board of inquiry to investigate the mysterious sinking of the MAINE. It is interesting to note that his father was an interpreter in the Lincoln Administration and that Abraham Lincoln appointed Adolph Marix to the United States Naval Academy. When the United States declared war against Spain on April 21, 1898, the first volunteer was Colonel Joseph M. Heller, who left a thriving medical practice to become an acting assistant surgeon in the Army. About 5,000 Jews served in this war. When the Jewish High Holy Days were approaching in 1898, there were 4,000 requests for furloughs to attend services. There were indeed 30 Jewish Army officers and 20 more in the Navy in the Spanish-American War. Jewish casualties ran high for the percentage of Jews in the service. Twenty-nine were killed, 47 wounded, and 28 died from disease - for a total of 104. | |
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