Samuel Elly Raiz

Submitted by: Hollace Weiner 

Samuel Elly Raiz served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known 28 April 1918 to 19 Sept. 1918.

 

The only Jewish soldier from Fort Worth killed in action during World War I was a 27-year-old doughboy who had immigrated to America ten years earlier, leaving his parents and brother behind in Russia. The soldier’s name was Pvt. Samuel Elly Raiz, and he lived with his Uncle Morris Ginsburg and Aunt Mollie Grobiscjz Ginsburg at their home at 1216 Broadway Ave.

His uncle was part of a large, extended family that operated Missouri Iron & Metal Industries, a pipe-and-supply company. At the time Sam registered for the draft he had not heard from his immediate family in Russia since August 1914, when the war erupted in Europe. When he went missing in action, a telegram was delivered to his aunt and uncle, his closest known relatives.

Sam was part of Company A of the 360th Infantry, 90th Division. He died during the battle of St. Mihiel in France, perishing Sept. 19, 1918. Because his remains were never identified, his name is among those of 483 American soldiers etched in marble on the Tablet of the Missing, Saint Mihiel American Cemetery & Memorial, Thiaucourt-Regnievelle,
Dept. de Meurthe-et-Moselle, Loraine France.