Max Marcus

Max Marcus grew up in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He had always
felt a sense of duty and appreciation for his country, and hoped that one day
he would be able to leave his mark on the world.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he knew that this was the moment that
would define his life. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1943, at
19-years-old, and left the only city he had ever known to complete basic
training in Sampson, New York. Mr. Marcus assumed that he would be sent
to the European front, where many of his enlisted friends were going, but
instead he headed to North Africa.

When he arrived at the North African front, he was assigned to the
amphibious division and would transport soldiers from ships to the shore
where they would engage the enemy. This specialized unit played a crucial
role in the African campaign with so many engagements occurring on the
shores of Morocco and Tunisia. Mr. Marcus would help navigate Landing
Craft Mechanized (LCMs) boats, and would transport 50 soldiers at a time
from larger ships to the shores and engage in combat.

With the North African campaign slowing down, the focus shifted to the
European front. After numerous missions, he shipped out to the European
front and fought in the invasion of Italy. He was an instrumental part of the
historic campaign, Operation Avalanche, where the allies landed near the
port of Salerno under the guidance of four-star general Mark W. Clarke. A
main objective of the campaign was to seize the port of Naples to ensure
resupply, and to cut across to the east coast, trapping the Axis troops
further south.

Mr. Marcus was part of the second wave and did the same job of
transporting troops from ships to the shore where they engaged the
enemy. It was for his actions here that he received the Combat Action
Ribbon, American Campaign Medal, European African Middle Eastern
Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Honorable discharge button and the
Honorable Service Medal.

In total, he spent over two years overseas and was discharged in 1946.