Page Fourteen

THE JEWISH NEWS

Friday, October I , 1943

rAinericaint Jews In.
The Armed Forces

By LOUIS KRAFT

O

N EVERY FRONT, from the South
Pacific to the rugged hills of Sicily, from the
jungles of Panama to the icy slopes of Attu and
Kiska, in desert and lush forest, on land, on the
sea and in the air, men are fighting in the
uniforms of the American armed forces.

(Executive Director. Jewish.. Welfare Board)
(Pictures and Story by National Jewish• Welfare Board): 1
Copyright, 1943, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.

In sharp contrast to:. the inadequate
provision in World War I there: is today a
substantial corps of rabbis. Who_ serve as chap-
lains in the Army and Navy, at home and over-

Everywhere one finds among these sons and
daughters of America, Jewish men and women.
When they arrive at the reception camp,
eager for the new adventure but often also
uncertain as to what to expect, doubts are dis-
pelled and confidence restored by the friendly
greeting of a Jewish Chaplain, easily identified
by the insignia that he wears on his coat lapel,
the traditional Star of David, surmounting a
replica of the Ten Commandments. Frequently
the chaplain is in the company of a civilian, a
JWB worker wearing a gold pin—USO, initials
that will become more familiar as the recruit
proceeds on his career in the service.

CHAPLAIN ALEXANDER D.
GOODE "missing in action" in the

North Atlantic, went down with a
stricken troop transport after giving
up his life jacket to a fellow-service-
man. He is the first casualty among
chaplains of Jewish faith in American
history.

The full story of the heroism
of these men is being recorded
in publications issued by the
JWB from time to time. The
compilation of this information
Throughout the land, the . JWB has made
and other research that will
provisions for the care of our men and women
reveal the full measure of Jew-
in uniform. The workers of this organization,
ish participation in the war,
numbering almost 300, serve over 600 military
is
the task of the JWB Bureau
establishments in continental United States and
of
War Records.
SGT.
HAROLD CANTOR has flown
outlying points — army camps, naval stations,
MAJ. CARL X. LICHTER, in an un-
on 138 bombing raids against the
We already have suffered
armed
commercial
plane,
escaped
Jap
air bases, on college campuses and in hospitals
Japs. He is credited with nine Zeros.
Zeros during the bombing of Hawaii.
casualties in numbers that
on the mainland, in Hawaii, Alaska, Central
demonstrate beyond ' question
. America, the Carribbean Islands, in small or
that
our Jewish men are doing
large numbers, organized as committees of the
seas. Today there are 23 Jewish chaplains in
their part along with their fellow Americans on
Jewish Welfare Board, eager to offer hospitality
the Navy, serving at training stations and at
every battlefront. We count several hundred
and friendship. Never before has there been
ports. There was only one naval chaplain in
heroes, decorated for bravery, often more than
so generous an outpouring of Jewish service,
World War I. There is now one chaplain In the
once in hazardous undertakings on land, on sea
such a demonstration of the kinship that binds
Merchant Marine, and he is the first Jewish
and in the air.
our people together the world over.
Chaplain in this service. There are already 189
The story needs to be told and is being told
Jewish chaplains in the
More than 400 com-
by the JWB Committee on Public Relations, a
Army and the number
munities — exclusive of
group representing the American Jewish Com-
will grow to at least 200
those in foreign lands —
mittee, the American Jewish Congress, the
before very long. There
are united in this vast
Jewish War Veterans, the Jewish Labor Com-
service.
were 26 in World War I.
mittee, and the Anti-Defamation League of
The men and women
In reporting on a re-
Bnai Brith. The record of Jewish participation
cent Seder observance in
in the service, away
is publicized with restraint and dignity, not in
an Australian commun-
the spirit of boastfulness but in the mood of a
from home, some of them
ity, a JWB correspondent
people that in every generation and in every
for
the
first
time,
seek
writes "Said one of those
land
feels the historic sense of carrying for-
eagerly opportunities for
Australian Jews: 'This is
ward a noble tradition.
contact
with
civilian
the first seder I have at-
Jewish life. One of the
tended in 30 years. Until
chief , tasks of the Jewish
now I had been worried
Welfare
Board is to ar-
about the continuity of
range for such associa-
our people. With only
tions. The JWB worker
'organizes the Jewish
Chaplain Goode is "missing in action" in
families to provide hos-
the North Atlantic. While his troop transport
pitality and arranges so-
was sinking early in March of this year,
Chaplain Goode and three religious leaders
cial events in which men
of other faiths removed their life jackets,
and women in uniform
handed them to servicemen who had none and,
may participate. Thous- •
SGT. SCHILLER COHEN,
as the ship sank, went below decks to pray
hailed as New York's most dec-
ands
of
letters
written
by
orated airman, is shown here
with the men who were trapped there.
soldiers
and
their
parents
on his return from Africa in
the office of the Jewish Welfare
Among the most decorated and courageous
attest to the warmth of
Board. The letter he is writing,
fighters serving the cause for which Chaplain
is to acknowledge the reception
the receptions accorded
given him at New York's City
Goode gave his life are 'America's airmen.
to our boys in far off
Hall by Acting Mayor Morris.
Typical of this group are four men of Jewish
places. There are many
faith: Sgt. Schiller Cohen, of New York; Sgt.
locations, however, where
Harold Cantor, of Mount Vernon, New York;
there are few or no Jewish residents.
Lt. Pincus Philip Taback, of Newark, N. J.,

LT. PINCUS PHILIP TABACK is shown with a friend .
who admires his Distinguished. Elying Cross. Lt. Taback
often went on bombing raids to escort the B-17 upon
which Sgt. Schiller Cohen was a gunner.

three of us within hundreds of miles, and with
stories of the virtual wiping out of Jewry in
Central Europe, I had begun to believe that
perhaps our stock was dying out. And now
suddenly I see several hundred young, vigor-
ous American Jews. And now I know that our
people are still carrying on. And this splendid
sight touches me and warms my heart; for it is
a token that come what may to you or me, our
people will go on forever.' "

Indeed our men and women in the armed
forces have given many indications of an
abiding loyalty to things Jewish. They have
been responsive beyond expectation to the re-
ligious and social program offered by the
Jewish Welfare Board, particularly to the
ministrations of the Jewish Chaplains.

Because of the isolation of so many military
establishments, the larger cities of the country
have been organized to meet the needs of the
men at distant camps through the joint
efforts of the major national women's organiza-
tions of the country. They constitute the
Women's Division of the Jewish Welfare Board.
Their local units and other local groups have
formed Serve-A-Camp Committees, collecting
necessary articles, recreational equipment and
even sending food and refreshments at great
distances to our workers who then distribute
them to the men, regardless of creed.

The same spirit is manifest in the service
to the sick men at Army camps and to the
wounded and disabled men who have returned
from battle overseas.

Closely related to the work for the disabled
men, is the service to veterans and their fam-
ilies. The JWB, as an accredited agency of the
Veterans Administration, has the responsibility
of serving them at Veterans Hospitals and in
handling their claims for benefits.

We think of active participation of Ameri-
can armed forces in this war as having merely
begun. The saddening lists of casualties attest
to the bitterness of the struggle.

and Major Carl J. Lichter, St. Paul, Minn.

Sgt. Cohen, holder of 13 citations, including
the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying
Cross, has a total of 254 combat flying hours
to his credit. In the first raid over Palermo
he detached the electric heating apparatus
from his flying suit at a freezing altitude to
revive a waist gunner who had fallen un-
conscious because of a frozen oxygen mask.
Numb with cold, Sgt. Cohen made his way
back to the tail gun and fought off four
messerschrnitts, shooting down a fifth.

Major Lichter, cited six times, escaped
Japanese fighter planes during the bombing
of Clark Field, Hawaii, piloting an unarmed
commercial plane in a three-day chase that
took him to Bataan, where he fought with
the infantry during the island's last bitter
fight. Since then he has flown on 75 missions.

Lt. Taback holds 11 citations. He is a fighter
pilot and has flown on 50 missions, including
several bombing raids over Sicily. He has
downed two German- fighter planes and has
scored hits on scores of others.

Sgt. Cantor, tail gunner in a Flying Fortress,
has 700 combat hours behind him. He has
participated in every major Pacific campaign
since Pearl Harbor and is Personally credited
with nine Zeros. He holds the DFC, the Silver
Star, the Air Medal and an Oak Leaf
Cluster. In almost two years of continucus
combat action, he has been on 138 bombing

missions.

