Military Service

Benjamin Clavir was raised in North Bay and later moved to Detroit were he worked as a clerk before returning to Canada in 1918 to enlist in the Canadian Armed Forces. He would have been one of the few Jewish servicemen from North Bay to fight in the First World War, as most members of the community were either too old or too young to serve.

By comparison, there were many more candidates of Jewish descent who served in the Second World War. Monty Weisman, son of Millie and Ecky, entered the military and reached the rank of Major General by the end of the war. In fact for several years, he served as the military attaché for the Canadian Embassy in Washington. Manny Gurevitch was in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) military police, and Herb Brown also served. Private Solomon Green, born and raised in North Bay, a serviceman in the RCOC, died just ten days before his 21st birthday in 1946 and was buried in Surrey, England. His parents had already moved to Toronto. The two sons of Abraham and Leah Brown, who lived at 49 Main Street East, were among the Jewish war casualties of the Second World War. They were Private Zave Brown, who was killed in Holland serving with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry in 1945, and Flying Officer Sydney Brown, who was shot down in an air operation with the RCAF in 1943. The family recalled that upon receiving a Silver Cross for the loss of her sons, Leah Brown became distraught and disposed of the medal.

Bill Eisen was president of the Canadian Legion in North Bay. North Bay has been primarily known as an aviation centre. The aviation program at Jack Garland Airport currently uses hangars from the old Canadian Armed Forces Base.

• Introduction
• Sports
• Military Service
• Involvement in Community and Political Life