Mickey Marcus, Jewish-American hero - War of Independence

Colonel David 'Mickey' Marcus was a graduate of the prestigious West Point military academy, and as a high ranking United States army officer he helped to lead the American paratroopers in Normandy on D-Day in 1944. Subsequently, Marcus was put in charge of assisting the survivors of Nazi death camps. Seeing his fellow Jew people in such a situation changed his life forever. In 1947 when the land of Israel was still occupied by the British empire, Marcus was recruited to go there. He took up the challenge and was able to train the new Jewish army to be able to defend the land in 1948 against the attacks by the surrounding Middle Eastern countries. Because of Marcus, Israel was able to retain western Jerusalem and the Negev. He was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General of the Israel Defense Forces, the first leader of an independent Jewish army in nearly 2000 years. Tragically Mickey Marcus was killed before the end of the war but his heroism is remembered in books and movies. This Jewish History Moment was brought to you by Israel National Radio. For more news and politics on Israel and the Jewish world visit http://www.IsraelNationalRadio.com for free streaming a audio and podcasts.

Yideoz | May 5, 2008

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