Fein Fine, Monroe Miran Stewart

Birth Name Fein Fine, Monroe Miran Stewart [1]
Call Name Monroe
Gender male
Age at Death 59 years

Events

Event Date Place Description Notes Sources
Birth 1923    

 
Military Service   United States Navy USN, Department of Defence DoD Lieutenant Monroe Fein served aas an Officer, and was a decorated veteran of the Pacific campaign

 
Military Service   אצ"ל ארגון צבאי לאומי ITzL Irgun Tzvi Leumi Lieutenant Monroe Fein served under contract

[1]
Boat June 10, 1948 אלטלנה USS LST-138 Altalena Altalena אלטלנה sailed from Port-de-Bouc for Israel carrying a cargo of guns, ammunition, heavy arms and ITzL אצ"ל fighters

Event Note

Lieutenant Monroe Fein served as Captain aboard Altalena אלטלנה.

Event Note

Julian Barenson served as Chief Steward aboard Altalena אלטלנה.

Event Note

Monroe Fein cites in Days of Fire, written by Shmuel Katz
"The ship continued to receive heavy firing from the shore for a period of about one and a half hours. Some of the heavy machine guns ashore were using armour-piercing ammunition which passed right through steel bulkheads of the ship. This fact began to cause numerous casualties. We had no doctor on board and some of our casualties were very seriously wounded. We contacted the army command and requested a cease-fire in order to allow us to remove the wounded men from the ship. We arranged that we would use our own LCVP for this purpose. . . . "
"During this time one of them [the wounded] died. One hour and a half later, and after repeated requests, there was still no sign of any boat. At this time, we were suddenly taken under fire by a large gun which was located on the coast to the north of the city. This gun fired three shots, all of which passed over the ship and exploded in the water beyond. . . . "
"During this time I conferred with the commander-in-chief of the Irgun and told him that if the gunfire should hit the ship, the ship, the cargo and possibly a good many lives would be lost and that he should at all costs maintain the cease-fire order until there could be further negotiations. This he agreed to do, but as he himself came up to talk on the radio to the headquarters ashore, the heavy gun resumed firing."
"As soon as the gun started a second time, I struck the flag as a sign of surrender. We again inquired of the Palmach commander whether the cease-fire order was in effect and the reply came that the cease-fire order was in effect but that he had been 'unable to contact all fronts.' Within a few seconds after this message was received, there was a direct hit on the ship which started a large fire in the cargo hold. The ship's crew made immediate and valiant efforts to put out this fire, but because of the nature of the cargo it proved beyond our capacity and I ordered all men aboard to prepare to abandon the ship."
"The first thought all of us had was to remove the wounded men. There was no panic. Everyone behaved in an extremely calm and heroic manner. As the men began jumping off the ship and swimming towards the shore, those of us still on board saw that they were being shot at continuously from rifles and machine-guns on the beach. I rushed to the bridge and began waving a white flag and shouting to stop the fire on the men who were swimming for their lives. At the same time another man hoisted a large piece of white canvas on the halyard, but these efforts were of little avail, as the firing continued."

 

Event Note

Alex Gutman was one of the Maapilim on board Altalena אלטלנה.

Event Note

Moshe Perlman Porat sailed for Israel on Altalena אלטלנה., arriving in Israel on June 20, 1948.
He had crossed into the French zone, and made it to in Reutlingen
With help from Yuta Plavner, who provided identity papers as an officer in UNRA, Moshe crossed into France, where he stayed until June, 1948.
His mother and sister joined him in July 1947, and he attended the ORT School.
.

Event Note

Dov Shilansky sailed for Israel on Altalena אלטלנה, landed at Kfar Vitkin, on June 21, 1948.
Dov Shilansky cites: He encountered an Israeli soldier in a command car, and “I spoke to him in Hebrew. It was my first speech in Israel.”
He told the soldier “We’ve just arrived. We survived the Holocaust. We’ve come here to fight by your side. The homeland is in danger. We will join the army.”
The soldier instructed him to go no farther. and Dov Shilansky replied: “We have no other way. I won’t go back to Dachau. If we can’t come to Israel, we’ll go back to the sea.”
The soldier replied: “I don’t care. Go back to the sea.”

 
Marriage     Monroe Fein married his wife, whom he met on Altalena

 
Death 1982    

 

Source References

  1. Terror Out of Zion: The Fight for Israeli Independence

Pedigree

    1. Fein Fine, Monroe Miran Stewart