Boake Carter Demands Recognition for Jewish Hero Who Destroyed Japanese Battleship

Corporal Meyer Levin, the New York Jewish boy who was the bombardier in the crew of Captain Colin Kelly’s plane that sank the Japanese battleship Haruna, is lauded today in a nation-wide syndicated article by Boake Carter, prominent political columnist and radio commentator, who demands more recognition for the Jewish hero.

“Much has been said about the deeds of Captain Colin Kelly,” Mr. Carter writes. “His name will live forever in history. But very little has been said of the seven who managed to bail out safely because of his heroic sacrifice. I desire to draw attention to another name in the crew of Kelly’s bomber – Corporal Meyer Levin, U. S. Army Air Corps, son of Sam and Leah Levin, of Brooklyn.

“Levin was the bombardier. He did the intricate calculating and accurately sped the bombs to destruction of the Jap battleship Haruna. The War Department has recommended that President Roosevelt award him the Distinguished Flying Cross. To me the combination of Colin Kelly, the Irish boy, and Meyer Levin, the Jewish boy a captain and a corporal – facing life and death together against a common enemy, is a moving symbol of America.

“Kelly’s background is clean, clear, typical of the American boy. His heritage has been covered in the press. But what about Corporal Levin? What kind of a background has he? He is 25, graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School. He studied at the Brooklyn Engineering School. He enlisted in the Air Force in June, 1939. At Fort Slocum he serviced for a time and then had further service in Hawaii. Last September he was one of that magnificent group of Army fliers who crossed the Pacific (with Kelly) from Hawaii to Manila. And Levin is still in the Philippines – fighting with General Douglas MacArthur. Those are highlights of Levin’s career. There’s a lot more to him. Like Kelly, this Jewish boy is of the stuff that makes America great-character, unselfishness, determination at all costs.

“Despite his modesty, this youngster showed strong anger and rage at those who attacked his country. Corp. Levin lay prone in the bomb bay, made rapid calculations as his eyes glued themselves to the bombsights, then pulled the releases that sent those bombs hurtling into the hull of the Haruna. This takes guts. Colin Kelly would be the first to demand recognition for his bombardier, were he alive.

“We shall hear of many similar heroic feats among the Kellys and Levins, the O’Briens and the Cohens – and almost every origin. This is the United States. Among all groups there will be heroes. We must realize that interpretation of democracy must permit each man to be judged for what he is and what he personally represents, not on some basis of generalization which bias and prejudice set up against a group.”