Jewish Ensign Commended by Knox; Bombardier Levin Lauded by Kelley’s Co-pilot

Ensign Stanley Caplan, Jewish Naval Reserve officer from Elmira, New York, has been commended by Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox for his feat of assuming command of a destroyer and taking it out to sea in pursuit of the enemy during the attack on Pearl Harbor, despite the fact that he had only eight months experience afloat. Citing Caplan, who is only 26, for distinguished service, Secretary Knox stated that he conducted operations of the destroyer for approximately thirty-six hours “in a most outstanding manner.”

The destroyer got under way, Secretary Knox said, when four Naval Reserve ensigns were the only surviving officers on board. Caplan, as senior of the four, took command, the Secretary related and “the young officers met all emergencies and operated the ship like veterans.” Caplan is the son of Moses Caplan, of Elmire. He was born July 13, 1915, at Elmira, and was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1939. He enrolled in the Navel Reserve in 1940, and reported for duty aboard a destroyer with the Pacific fleet on April 4, 1941.

Corporal Meyer Levin, of Brooklyn, who was the bombardier on the plane piloted by Captain Colin Kelley, which sunk the Japanese battleship Haruns, was highly praised in the detailed account of the flight which reached here today. Second Lieut. Donald Robins, who was Kelley’s co-pilot gave the full story at Corregidor where he is serving with Gen. MacArthur’s besieged forces. Speaking of Levin, he stated: “The bombardier of our plane, Corporal Meyer Levin, deserves special credit, since he was using an untried bombsight of a type slightly different than he usually operated.”