MAX SILVERSTEIN, LT, USN

Max Silverstein '32

Date of birth: February 15, 1911

Date of death: May 7, 1942

Age: 31

Lucky Bag

From the 1932 Lucky Bag:

MAX SILVERSTEIN

Chicago, Illinois

"Murph" "Max"

A chorus of yells rises from the bleachers, a multitude of pleas to "Go get 'im, Murph," "All right, Max, give 'im the works!" and a determined-looking lad gets up from the bench, goes to the mat, and applies the pressure. Not much of a talker, this Max boy, but he certainly produces, not only on the wrestling mat, where he has shown himself one of Navy's greatest wrestlers, but in his everyday intercourse with his classmates.

His attitude shows itself in his every action ... on the mat he makes no grimaces, strikes no attitudes, but goes in and ties his man in more knots than a salty old bos'n could fathom. Wrestling, with its body-to-body contact, ranks with boxing in its capacity for developing the fighting man, not the showy type, but the persevering plugger. In the Service it's the plugger, the square-shooter, that makes the best officer, and we're all expecting Max, after he has thrown his last adversary on the mat, to continue winning his bouts with life in the Service.

Wrestling; "N" Club; Batt C.P.O.

Max was on the Wrestling Squad and finished the year undefeated in his weight class and was selected to go to Nationals.

MAX SILVERSTEIN

Chicago, Illinois

"Murph" "Max"

A chorus of yells rises from the bleachers, a multitude of pleas to "Go get 'im, Murph," "All right, Max, give 'im the works!" and a determined-looking lad gets up from the bench, goes to the mat, and applies the pressure. Not much of a talker, this Max boy, but he certainly produces, not only on the wrestling mat, where he has shown himself one of Navy's greatest wrestlers, but in his everyday intercourse with his classmates.

His attitude shows itself in his every action ... on the mat he makes no grimaces, strikes no attitudes, but goes in and ties his man in more knots than a salty old bos'n could fathom. Wrestling, with its body-to-body contact, ranks with boxing in its capacity for developing the fighting man, not the showy type, but the persevering plugger. In the Service it's the plugger, the square-shooter, that makes the best officer, and we're all expecting Max, after he has thrown his last adversary on the mat, to continue winning his bouts with life in the Service.

Wrestling; "N" Club; Batt C.P.O.

Max was on the Wrestling Squad and finished the year undefeated in his weight class and was selected to go to Nationals.

Loss

Max was lost on May 7, 1942 when USS Sims (DD 409) was sunk by Japanese dive bombers in the Battle of the Coral Sea. He was the ship's engineer and damage control officer.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Max graduated from Lawson elementary school and Crane Technical high school in Chicago where he was a member of the Chess and Checker Club as a freshman. He was appointed to the Naval Academy by Representative Adolph J. Sabath of Illinois.
Max won the Eastern college middleweight wrestling title at the Naval Academy. His younger brother, Ruffy (Ralph) was a Big Ten mat champion.
His father Benjamin was employed in the county clerk’s office. His mother was Pauline, and his brothers were Harry, Jacob, and Capt. Ralph who was in the army air corps.

His wife was listed as next of kin.

He is remembered at the Battle of the Coral Sea Memorial Park and also at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

Photographs

From the Chicago Tribune on June 14, 1942

Silver Star

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Max Silverstein (NSN: 0-71595), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while serving as Engineer and Damage Control Officer of the Destroyer U.S.S. SIMS (DD-409), which was lost during combat action in the Coral Sea on 7 May 1942. After having been rendered unconscious by concussion from the first bomb which hit the ship, Lieutenant Silverstein coolly resumed his duties, directing the securing of boilers, the jettisoning of torpedo weights to preserve stability and the preparations for repairs to save the vessel from sinking. Lieutenant Silverstein's gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 313 (April 1943)
Action Date: 7-May-42
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant
Company: Engineer and Damage Control Officer
Division: U.S.S. Sims (DD-409)

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.