Life in Israel and the Merchant Marines

Text

“We were assigned to go to this kibbutz in the Negev desert, just south of Isdud, which is now Ashdod. We traveled at the time as the Hagannah and were attacked by Arab forces often.” 

“Once we were in this bus travelling through Tel Aviv to another kibbutz, and we cut through the desert and were attacked by some Arabs from a ditch, and they opened fire with machine guns on the bus. The bus driver was Hagannah and he had this sub-machine gun he used to fire back at the Arabs. Only two girls were wounded.” 

“At this point I was legally in the army. The IDF and my group were approached by the Merchant Marines who had just formed, which I joined as a cadet, and I later round up to being an officer. This led to me working on various cargo ships around the world, including in the United States, which is where and how I met my wife in Baltimore in the late 50s. Her name was Frances Chosak, and we got married in Baltimore in 1960 after I left the Merchant Marines after 11 years of service.” 

Editor's Note: Larry first arrived in Palestine before the state of Israel was established in 1948. During his early time in Palestine, he joined the Hagannah, a Zionist para-military group in the region. The Hagannah was integrated into the Israeli Defensive Forces following the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.