Private Philip Silverman was born in Charleston, SC on December 7, 1920, the son of Ike Silverman (1880-1947) and Annie Bonnett (1881-1952). His father had immigrated from Russian in 1906 and became a shoemaker and proprietor of a shop. Following two years of high school, Philip enlisted in the US Army in 1937 and made his way to Ft. Barrancas in 1940. Here, he met and married Helen Elizabeth Johnson (1923-2004) born and raised in Pensacola. Her father was Daniel Jason Johnson (1889-1938), a local carpenter, and Sadie Mae Davis (1891-1933) of Myrtle Grove. They were married in Russell County, AL on October 2, 1941.
Then came an announcement that the Army was going to create a new airborne division of "paratroopers" for those that wish to volunteer. Philip put in his paperwork and received orders on or about May 1, 1942 to Ft. Benning, GA to attend "jump school." Apparently, Helen went with him because their son, Joseph Philip Silverman (1942-1999) was born there on July 19, 1942. He was assigned to Company "G" of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. The 504th left Benning for Ft. Bragg in October 1942 and continued their training along with the 505th Regiment. The Division received orders to load up aboard the USS George Washington and head for the Mediterranean as of May 10, 1943. They arrived in Casablanca just as the North African campaign was ending. Soon it was time to embark for the invasion Sicily where the spearheaded the attach with the first airborne offensive in American military history. The Sicilian invasion was costly, not only in lives but also equipment. Afterwards the 504th returned to Kairouan to prepare for the invasion of Italy on the 3rd of September.
Two days after the initial landing, Philip and his comrades landed at Salerno beach as massed German and troops attempted desperately to annihilate them! They held their ground to the point that General Mark Clark stated, these men were "responsible for saving the Salerno beachhead." But heavy fighting lay in their path as they fought their way inland. On October 1, 1943, Philip's regiment became the first to enter the city of Naples. In the next few weeks that followed the regiment slugged its way across steep, barren slopes taking heavily defended hills from a determined enemy. Surefooted mules had to be incorporated to evacuate the dead and wounded over such terrain.
It was in this area that Private Philip Silverman was killed in action along with PFC Roy B. Baseshore on December 12, 1943. A telegram from the War Department arrived at the home of Helen's parents in Myrtle Grove where she and young Joseph were living. Limited information was presented but the bottom line was that he was never coming home. She returned to work as a helper at the Naval Aviation Training Command and set about raising their young son. Sadly, young Joseph would pass away in 1999 prior to his mother and was buried in Texas. His mother would remarry and spend twenty years in Atlanta as an express agent for the Southern Greyhound Bus line before returning to Pensacola in 1991. She would pass away in Gulf Breeze on September 4, 2004.
As to Philip, he was buried in a makeshift military cemetery at Carano, Italy until 1949 when his family brought him home. There, he was reburied in the KKBI Cemetery in Charleston, SC with his parents.
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