Silver Lining to Patriotic Service

By Craig Stewart

A wonderful aspect of my job is meeting so many veterans and hearing about their wartime experiences or meeting family members who proudly speak of a loved one’s service.  Some stories are dramatic, and most involve sacrifice and valor. In every case, duty to country is a common theme. Almost every American family who has been here for more than a generation has a direct connection to the military.

Over the past year, I had the distinct pleasure of interacting with the Silver Company of Fredericksburg, Virginia, a very successful development company founded by Carl D. Silver in the 1960’s. During several meetings with company staff, I picked up on a record of military service in the Silver family. 

I heard about a biography of Carl Silver published in 1995 and gleaned these facts from the book:

• Carl’s grandfather, Max, immigrated to the United States from Poland in 1914 and served in the U.S. Army during World War I.  In World War II, he served as platoon sergeant in Essex County (VA) militia and as an air raid warden. Max died in a Veterans Hospital in Richmond in 1956.
• Carl’s brother, Israel, served in the Army during World War II.
• Carl volunteered and enlisted in the Army in 1943 at age 18. He wanted to follow his older brother and help stop the suffering in Europe.  Carl felt strongly that American Jews should help European Jews in their plight against the Nazis.
• He was part of the Normandy invasion and saw combat in France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany.
• After crossing the Rhine River into Germany in 1945, Carl was seriously wounded in the leg by shrapnel from an artillery shell and spent several months in military hospitals and wore a leg brace for some time afterwards.  He was awarded the Purple Heart.
• Like many veterans of World War II, Carl returned home to start his family and professional career.  A sense of duty and patriotism still runs strong in his family.