My Jewish Grandfather, the War Hero Who Saved Lives

Hyman Silverman receives the Croix de Gurre in Paris

The short man being decorated in this photo is my grandfather, Hyman Silverman. He is receiving the Croix de Guerre in Paris. The photo hangs in the Museum of American Jewish Military in Washington, DC.

My grandfather also received the Distinguished Service Cross, second medal only to the Medal of Honor. His citation reads:

"When enemy shellfire had ignited an ammunition dump, then Private Silverman assisted in removing the ammunition from the blazing dump. Several of his comrades were seriously wounded by exploding shells and he was hit by hand-grenade explosions, but he continued until the greater part of the explosives were moved to safety. He then assisted in removing the wounded comrades before submitting to treatment for wounds."

Jennie, Hyman, and Hyman's sister before
Hyman shipped off to Paris

After the war, Hyman returned to the United States, the most decorated soldier of his home town Chelsea, Massachusetts. He married his sweetheart, my grandmother Jennie, and they had three daughters including my mother, Phyllis. Phyllis said her father was in the newspaper every Sunday, as he gave stories of the war. Extremely proud of her father, he told her war stories and taught her marching songs at night, some of which she sang to me as a child.

By all accounts Hyman was a great hero, decorated for rescuing lives rather than taking them. 

As my mother told me as a child, the true story of my grandfather's valor is a bit more complex. Hyman fought in the Battle of Verdun (Feb. - Dec. 1916). At one point intelligence conveyed that an allied ammunition dump was going to be bombed by planes, and volunteers to clear it in time were asked for. Hyman was one of eight volunteers. My mother told me his motivation was he was eager to prove to his friends on the tough streets of Chelsea that a Jew could be a war hero. Just as the men were removing the last caches of ammunition, the anticipated planes arrived and strafed the trenches, igniting the ammunition in their arms. All the men were badly wounded, including Hyman, who among other wounds was bleeding from one ear and never recovered his hearing in it. However, as if unaware of his own injuries Hyman was seen carrying his wounded comrades to shelter under open fire. She swore he told her he carried these men one on each shoulder, something she told me he saw his father do with his two crippled sisters when he was a boy. As the citation says, it was only after all men were safe that he submitted for treatment of his own wounds. According to my mother, he was witnessed more than once performing such acts during the war, but was officially cited only once.

My grandmother Jennie later volunteered for the Jewish War Veterans of America and served as National President of the Jewish War Veterans Ladies' Auxiliary in 1941, an achievement she was always proud of.

Beatrice Silverman

My mother's older sister, Beatrice Silverman, later served as a communications officer with the Navy during World War II, as part of the WAVES. Beatrice would later marry Norman Mailer, author of the famous WWII novel The Naked and the Dead.

One of the songs my mother sang to me as a child that she said she learned from her father was Waltzing Matilda. She said the men sang this when they marched. I have not been able to corroborate this being sung by troops in Europe, as it is an Australian song, but I trust she is right. Here it is being sung by Australian soldiers of the time period.



The song brings back memories of my mother singing to me at night when I was very small.