Jewish Soldiers To Be Awarded Belated Medal of Honor
President Obama will award the Medal of Honor to 24 American troops, most of whom had been overlooked because of anti-Jewish or anti-Hispanic prejudice.
The White House said in a statement issued on Friday that the medals to be awarded March 18 are the result of a review mandated by a law passed in 2002 by Congress based on reports that some troops had been denied the nation’s highest military honor because of prejudice.
In the course of the review, the statement said, it was found that several soldiers not of Jewish or Hispanic descent also had been denied the medal, and that they too would be honored.
Three soldiers will receive the award in person; the remainder will be awarded posthumously to men who fought in the Vietnam and Korean wars and in World War II.
The White House did not identify which of the awardees were Jewish or Hispanic or neither.
Two Florida lawmakers, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) noted in separate statements that one of the awardees is Pvt. 1st Class Leonard Kravitz who died fending off Communist forces on March 6 and 7, 1951 near Yangpyong in Korea. He faced an ambush with a machine gun so his fellow troops could evacuate.
Mitchel Libman, a resident of Hollywood Fla., and a childhood friend of Kravitz’s had championed his cause. Kravitz is the namesake of his nephew, the musician Lenny Kravitz.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
