Joseph Vladimirovich (Volfovich) Trumpeldor was an early Zionist activist who helped to organize the Zion Mule Corps and bring Jewish immigrants to Palestine. Trumpeldor died defending the settlement of Tel Hai in 1920 and subsequently became a Jewish national hero. According to a standard account, his last words were "It's nothing, it is good to die for our country", but that he ever said these words has been challenged.
Joseph Trumpeldor in the uniform of a British Army officer but without visible badges, c. World War One
Joseph Trumpeldor in Japanese captivity, c. 1905. Trumpeldor sent this photo to his parents from captivity. Above him is a sign of the Jewish prisoners society "Bne Zion Hashevuyim beYapan" ("Sons of Zion captives in Japan") that he helped to found.
Joseph Trumpeldor 1918 (seated 2nd from right)
Joseph Trumpeldor in 1917
The Jewish Legion was an unofficial name used to refer to five battalions of the British Army's Royal Fusiliers regiment, which consisted of Jewish volunteers recruited during World War I. In 1915, the British Army raised the Zion Mule Corps, a transportation unit of Jewish volunteers, for service in the Gallipoli campaign. Two years later in August 1917, the decision was made to raise an infantry battalion of Jewish soldiers which would be integrated into an existing British Army regiment.
Jewish Legion soldiers in 1919
Zion Mule Corps Ammunition Company
A recruitment poster showing Daughter of Zion: "Your Old New Land must have you! Join the Jewish regiment."
Colonel John Henry Patterson.
