David Mickey Marcus - An Israeli-American Hero

Helped Found the IDF and Saved Jerusalem for a Young Israel in 1948

Oct 10, 2009

In the annals of Israeli history, few stories compare to that of the American who helped Israel form an army and save Jerusalem, Colonel David "Mickey Marcus.

Colonel David "Mickey" Marcus. For those in the know about Israel's history, the name evokes every kind of emotion: joy, sorrow, pride, anger. Unfortunately many people have never heard of him. However, Colonel Marcus really and truly represents the essence of the early state of Israel.

So who was Mickey Marcus and why was he so important to the State of Israel? In 1947, the Haganah and the Palmach, two pre-state militias were making plans for the departure of the British and the war that was expected once they left. An undercover agent was sent to America from the Haganah to find someone to help advise the new army on how they could win. The agent approached Marcus, an American army colonel and veteran of World War II. Marcus had helped to liberate several concentration camps and the memory of those tragedies was still fresh in his mind. Therefore, he "volunteered" himself for the job.

An Army for the Early State of Israel

Marcus arrived in Mandatory Palestine under a false name, Michael Stone. This was done because the American army didn't want to anger the Arabs. In this way, he could pretend to be on his own. Marcus was quickly appointed as an "aluf," a general in the new Israeli army (the first in almost two thousand years) and set about training the two main militias, the Haganah and the Palmach to be one unified army.

The Fight for Jerusalem and Israel's “Burma Road”

During the early days of the Israeli War of Independence, the Jordanian Arab Legion took charge of the old British fort at Latrun, on the road to Jerusalem. Trucks trying to supply Jewish troops in Jerusalem were completely cut off. The newly formed Israel Defense Force attempted to attack the fort, but was defeated, losing hundreds of troops in the process. At the same time, the United Nations had called for a cease fire, which, once it went into effect would have permanently cut off access to Jerusalem, thereby depriving the new state of its' very soul.

Marcus came up with an ingenious idea; he took a page from the American army's World War II effort and created a "Burma road," basically a bypass road through rough hills, which allowed trucks to get through, with a huge mountain protecting them from the guns at Latrun. The plan worked and Jerusalem was saved, but not before the old city had fallen to Jordanian troops. It would take 19 years more until that part of the city was once again in Jewish hands.

The Death of Mickey Marcus

Several hours before the cease fire was to go into effect, Marcus took a walk outside of his camp. When he came back, the soldier on duty demanded the day's password in Hebrew. Marcus, a secular Jew, 40had never learned Hebrew and couldn't answer. He was shot and died instantly, becoming the final Jewish casualty before the cease fire took effect.

In a letter to his wife, David Ben Gurion referred to Marcus as "the best man we had." Even though he'd fought and died for the State of Israel, he was later buried in America's Arlington National Cemetery (a cemetery for the military in America) with full honors. Marcus is the only soldier to be buried there who died fighting in a foreign army. A movie about his experiences in Israel, starring Kirk Douglas and John Wayne was made in 1966, called Cast a Giant Shadow.

The copyright of the article David Mickey Marcus - An Israeli-American Hero in Jewish History is owned by Eric Hammer. Permission to republish David Mickey Marcus - An Israeli-American Hero in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.