13 MAY
1221 Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (13 May 1221 â 14 November 1263), or Alexander Nevskii, served as Prince of Novgorod (1236â40, 1241â56 and 1258-1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236â52) and Grand Prince of Vladimir (1252â63) during some of the most difficult times in Kievan Rus’ history. Commonly regarded as a key figure of medieval Russia, he rose to legendary status on account of his military victories over German and Swedish invaders. He preserved Russian statehood and Russian Orthodoxy, agreeing to pay tribute to the powerful Golden Horde. Alexander Nevsky was canonized as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1547.
1795 Joshua Ratoon Sands (May 13, 1795 â October 2, 1883) was an officer in the United States Navy who rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. He served in the War of 1812, the MexicanâAmerican War, and the Civil War.
1901 Witold Pilecki (13 May 1901 â 25 May 1948) Considered one of the greatest wartime heroes, Pilecki founded one of the first Polish resistance movements against the Nazi occupation. He volunteered in 1940 to be imprisoned in Auschwitz, where he gathered some of the first information about the Holocaust, passing it onto the Western Allies. In 1943 he made a daring escape, rejoined the Polish Home Army, and took part in the Warsaw Uprising. Arrested on 8 May 1947 by the communist authorities, Pilecki was tortured and, despite pleas for pardon written to Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz (also an Auschwitz survivor) and President BolesÅaw Bierut, was executed on 25 May 1948.
1914 Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – Apr 12, 1981) Joe enlisted as a Private in the U.S. Army at Camp Upton in New York on January 9, 1942 at the age of 27. Louis completed basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas, and was assigned to the Special Services Division. He traveled 22,000 miles to perform 96 boxing exhibitions for two million soldiers. Joe participated in recruiting with his âWeâll win, because weâre on Godâs sideâ comment a key slogan. He was awarded the Legion of Merit on September 23, 1945, for incalculable contribution to the general morale. Staff Sgt. Louis was honorably discharged by the Army on October 1, 1945.
1922 Bea Arthur (Bernice Frankel May 13, 1922- Apr 25, 2009) On February 18, 1943, just five days after the Marine Corps began recruiting women, a young Bernice Frankel went to enlist. she attended the first Women Reservists school at Hunter College in New York. She spent 1944 and 1945 at USMCAS (US Marine Corps Air Station) Cherry Point, North Carolina, where she worked as a driver and a dispatcher. Upon her discharge in September 1945, Arthur had reached the rank of Staff Sergeant.
1939 Harvey Keitel (May 13, 1939) attended Alexander Hamilton Vocational School after graduating from high school, but dropped out and joined the Marines in 1956. Over the next three years, Keitel served in Lebanon during operation Blue Bat for which we earned a medal as a fire team leader.
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