Shield of David - by Chaim M Rosenberg (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Since Revolutionary times, Jews have served in the United States armed forces and fought bravely in America's wars.

Jews first arrived in the New World in 1654, seeking religious freedom. Since the beginning of American nationhood, Jewish volunteers and conscripts fought in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, on both sides of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, in both World Wars, and in the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Over the years, the American military learned to integrate its Jewish servicemen and women by providing Jewish military chaplains, kosher food, religious services, and placing the Star of David on the graves of fallen Jewish soldiers.

The end of conscription and the establishment of the All-Volunteer Force in 1973 offered other paths to serve our country. American Jews have contributed with distinction in the arts and sciences, academia, entertainment, government, and in building the economy. For Jews, America is the Goldene Medina--the Golden Country.

Review Quotes

"Chaim Rosenberg's Shield of David is a welcome addition to scholarship on Jewish American military service. It is a fine reminder of the generations of heroic Jews who served valiantly in the Armed Services in order to make the world a safer place for themselves and their children."--Leah Garrett, author of X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos Who Helped Defeat the Nazis and Young Lions: How Jewish Authors Reinvented the American War Novel

"Chaim Rosenberg's thoroughly-researched book details the role of Jews in the American armed forces from Revolutionary times to our days. During World War II, Jewish soldiers, sailors and airmen battled the Nazis, took part in the liberation of concentration camps, tended to the survivors of the Holocaust, and helped restore Jewish life in Europe. Shield of David is a most interesting description of Jewish contribution to the war effort before, during and after World War II."--Michael Gruenbaum, author of Somewhere There is Still a Sun; A Memoir of the Holocaust.

"The fascinating and important tale of Jewish-American soldiers, sailors, and Marines who, despite the near-omniscient challenges of anti-Semitism, defended U.S. freedom with loyalty, courage, and honor from the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan. Many never came home. Hundreds of previously untold stories. Historically essential, and a page-turner, too."--Michael Benson, author Gangsters Vs Nazis.

About the Author

Chaim Rosenberg was born in South Africa, lived in Tel Aviv, London, and Sydney before settling a half-century ago in the United States. After a gratifying career in Psychiatry, affiliated with Harvard and Boston University medical schools, he turned to the study of American history, writing fifteen books focused largely on the role of the individual in shaping American greatness. He wrote a biography of Francis Cabot Lowell, whose 1814 water-powered textile mill was the beginning of America's industrial revolution; and Cyrus Hall McCormick, whose horse-powered harvesting machine revolutionized agriculture worldwide. Rosenberg's other books focus on the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, child labor in America, and the Loyalists in the American Revolutionary War. His book Yankee Colonies Across America won the 2016 non-fiction prize of the New England Society in the City of New York. Shield of David tells the role of Jews in the American armed forces from the Revolutionary War to our times.