The parents of Meyer Levin, the New York Jewish boy who as Captain Colin Kelly’s bombardier bombed and sank the Japanese battleship Haruna in the first American victory of the war, today received the cheerful news that their son has hit another 12,000-ton Japanese ship in the Coral Sea Battle.
The twenty-five-year-old Jewish hero who was a corporal at the first sinking, has now been promoted to sergeant, he wrote to his parents here. He said that returning from the Coral Sea battle to Australia, his big Flying Fortress encountered heavy weather and the fuel ran low. When two of the engines cut, the commander ordered the crew to bail out. A cattle driver helped Sergeant Levin round up his comrades, all unhurt.
Meyer Levin received the Distinguished Service Cross for the sinking of the Japanese battleship Haruna soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He is a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School and was a student of the Brooklyn Engineering School for Aviation. He enlisted in the Air Corps on June 6, 1959.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.