Herman Louis Bush

Herman Louis Bush’s Personal Narrative was derived from information found in public records, military personnel files, and local/state historical association materials. Please note that the Robb Centre never fully closes the book on our servicemembers; as new information becomes available, narratives will be updated to appropriately represent the life story of each veteran.

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Military Honor(s):

Distinguished Service Cross

Citation: The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Herman L. Bush, First Sergeant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Verdun, France, October 25, 1918. Sergeant Bush, learning that an officer was lying wounded in both legs in a zone of heavy machine-gun fire, immediately left a position of shelter, went to his aid, and succeeded in bringing the officer back to a place of safety.

Purple Heart

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Life & Service

  • Birth: 4 March 1893, Boston, MA, United States
  • Place of Residence: Boston, MA, United States
  • Race/Ethnicity: Jewish American
  • Death: 18 September 1962 Roxbury, MA, United States
  • Branch: Army
  • Military Rank: First Sergeant
  • Company: [B]
  • Infantry Regiment: 102nd MG
  • Division: 26th
Personal Narrative
Early Life (Pre-War): Includes general parent information, sibling information, education Toggle Accordion

Herman Louis Bush (originally Bushlove or Bushloff) was born on 4 March 1893 to Esther Symon (1862-?) and Samuel Bush (1868-?) in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; he was the eldest of four children, Goldie (1897-1984), Israel (1899-1900), and Lillian (1906-1992).

The family lived in Boston (113 Brighton St., 99 Chelsea St., 117 Elmo St.) into the 1910s- Bush worked as a jeweler as a teenager and manufacturer with Smith-Patterson Company (56 Summer St.).

Service: Includes a summary of transfers, rank change(s), training, enlistment, and discharge locations Toggle Accordion

Bush enlisted in the Massachusetts National Guard on 27 June 1916, serving as a Private with the Cavalry on the Mexican Border. Bush was promoted to Corporal before September of 1917, then First Sergeant on an unknown date; he was mustered into federal service with Company B, 102nd Machine Gun Battalion, 26th Division. Cpl Bush and Co. B left the U.S. in September of 1917 aboard the U.S. Army Transport Ship Antilles. Then-First Sgt. Bush received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions on 25 October 1918 near Verdun, France;

“The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Sergeant Herman L. Bush (ASN: 109458), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company B, 102d Machine-Gun Battalion, 26th Division, A.E.F., near Verdun, France, 25 October 1918. Sergeant Bush, learning that an officer was lying wounded in both legs in a zone of heavy machine-gun fire, immediately left a position of shelter, went to his aid, and succeeded in bringing the officer back to a place of safety.”

Bush also self-states the receival of a French Croix de Guerre (unknown level), however, the citation is currently unknown. Bush was wounded in action in November of 1918,

“…near Verdun, Nov. 9, 1918 resulting in loss of left leg at thigh, left index finger, sight of left eye and multiple wounds in left arm and right leg and head”.

First Sgt Bush was Honorably Discharged on 10 November 1919 at Walter Reed General Hospital.

Later Life (Post-War): Includes post-war education, occupation, marriage(s) and/or children, location and date of death Toggle Accordion

Upon his return home, Bush lived with his parents in Boston (117 Elmo St.); in 1927, Bush married Eda Gorfinkle (1902-2000) in Brookline, Massachusetts, the couple had two children, Alan Richard (1928-?), and Robert Lee (1932-?). In the 1930s, the family lived in Boston, where Bush worked as a lawyer and city counselor. In 1938, Bush was named as the Soldiers’ Relief Commissioner;

“Mr. Bush, an attorney, member of the Massachusetts and Federal bars, was educated in Boston public schools, B.U. College of Business Administration, B.U. School of Law, and Harvard Extension course. He served three terms in the City Council, from 1926 through 1931. He is a member of the examining committee of the Boston Public Library. Mr. Bush served at the Mexican border with the First Squadron, Massachusetts Cavalry, in 1916, and with B Company, 102nd Machine Gun Battalion, 26th Division, overseas in the World War. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre and D.S.C. He was wounded in action near Verdun, resulting in the loss of a leg, the sight of one eye, and a finger. In 1919 he was discharged from Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, was recommended for a commission from the ranks to second lieutenant, and was discharged as a first sergeant.

Mr. Bush has been a national judge advocate of the Army and Navy Legion of Valor, is past commander Post 72, Jewish War Veterans; member Roxbury Post, A.L.; Herbert J. Wolfe Post, V. of F.W.; Haym Solomon Lodge, B’nai Brith; Boston Y.M.G.A., and secretary of the association of Masters in Chancery of Massachusetts.”

The family lived in Brighton and Roxbury into the 1940s, living at 2009 Commonwealth Ave. and 148 Homestead St.; Bush retired from the Soldiers’ Relief Commission in 1942 and from city counselor duties in 1945. In the 1950s, the family lived in Brookline at 93 Thornton Rd, where Bush continued to work as an attorney.

Bush died at the West Roxbury VA Medical Center on 18 September 1962 of an unknown cause; he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.