Raymond Zussman (July 23, 1917 – September 21, 1944) was a second lieutenant in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

—for his actions in France during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Biography

Zussman was born July 23, 1917, in

Hamtramck, Michigan Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of ...

to Nathan Zussman and Rebecca Leah. Raymound Zussman had seven siblings and his father ran a shoe store. Zussman as boy sang in his synagogue’s choir. He attended Central High School in Detroit. A boy of small stature, Zussman joined the high school football team despite his coach's skepticism. After graduating from high school, Zussman joined

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the ...

Local 337 in Detroit, eventually rising to the position of

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

at his place of employment. Zussman spent one year of college at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

and also took night classes in metallurgy. In September 1941, Zussman joined the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

.WWII Army Enlistment Records
/ref> Prior to becoming a

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

commander, Zussman was an instructor in

street fighting Street fighting is hand-to-hand combat in public places, between individuals or groups of people. The venue is usually a public place (e.g. a street) and the fight sometimes results in serious injury or occasionally even death. Some street fig ...

at Fort Knox in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. In June 1943, he participated in the allied invasion of North Africa and after that the invasion of Italy. After being wounded at the battle of Monte Cassino in Italy, the Army offered Zussman a Headquarters position. Zussman declined, stating he wanted another front line position; he was then assigned to a tank unit in France. By September 12, 1944, Zussman was serving as a second lieutenant, commanding tanks of the 756th Tank Battalion. On that day, during a battle in the city of

Noroy-le-Bourg Noroy-le-Bourg () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. See also *Communes of the Haute-Saône department The following is a list of the 539 communes in the French department ...

, France, Zussman repeatedly went forward alone to scout enemy positions and exposed himself to enemy fire while directing his tank's action. On September 21, 1944, nine days after the battle at Noroy-le-Bourg, Zussman was killed by a German mortar bomb blast. On May 24, 1945, at a graduation ceremony at the

United States Army Armor School The United States Army Armor School (formerly Armored Force School) is a training school located at Fort Benning, Georgia. Its primary focus is the training of United States Army soldiers, non-commissioned officers, warrant officers, and commi ...

(then located at Fort Knox) Zussman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Noroy-le-Bourg. Zussman's father gave a thank you address to the graduating class. On June 6, 1949, Zussman was disinterred from a military cemetery and reburied in Machpelah Cemetery in

Ferndale, Michigan Ferndale is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms part of the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,190. Ferndale is well known in the Detroit area for its LGBT population and prog ...

. The city government of Detroit wanted Zussman to lie in state at Detroit City Hall, but Zussman's distraught father declined the honor.

Memorials

In 1944, the U.S. Army launched ''Lt. Raymond Zussman'' (FS-246), a small wooden cargo ship named for Zussman. In 1997, the Army started work on Zussman Village, a

military operations in urban terrain Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and ...

(MOUT) training center for

urban warfare Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians a ...

at Fort Knox. The Zussman Playground in Detroit is named after Raymond Zussman. Zussman Park located in front of City Hall in

Hamtramck Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...

, Michigan, is named after Raymond Zussman. Raymond Zussman's story and Medal of Honor are on permanent display at the Michigan Heroes Museum in Frankenmuth, Michigan.

Medal of Honor citation

Second Lieutenant Zussman's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

On 12 September 1944, 2d Lt. Zussman was in command of 2 tanks operating with an infantry company in the attack on enemy forces occupying the town of Noroy le Bourg, France. At 7 p.m., his command tank bogged down. Throughout the ensuing action, armed only with a
carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighte ...
, he
reconnoiter In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmishers, ...
ed alone on foot far in advance of his remaining tank and the
infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
. Returning only from time to time to designate targets, he directed the action of the tank and turned over to the infantry the numerous German soldiers he had caused to surrender. He located a road block and directed his tanks to destroy it. Fully exposed to fire from enemy positions only 50 yards distant, he stood by his tank directing its fire. Three Germans were killed and 8 surrendered. Again he walked before his tank, leading it against an enemy-held group of houses,
machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...
and small arms fire kicking up dust at his feet. The tank fire broke the resistance and 20 enemy surrendered. Going forward again alone he passed an enemy-occupied house from which Germans fired on him and threw grenades in his path. After a brief fire fight, he signaled his tank to come up and fire on the house. Eleven German soldiers were killed and 15 surrendered. Going on alone, he disappeared around a street corner. The fire of his carbine could be heard and in a few minutes he reappeared driving 30 prisoners before him. Under 2d Lt. Zussman's heroic and inspiring leadership, 18 enemy soldiers were killed and 92 captured.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zussman, Raymond 1917 births 1944 deaths United States Army personnel killed in World War II United States Army Medal of Honor recipients People from Hamtramck, Michigan United States Army officers Jewish Medal of Honor recipients World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor 20th-century American Jews Military personnel from Michigan