PERSIAN GULF CRASIS
• How,
Lewis Barr, and
his family, are
fighting the
battle on the
home front.
He's been on
■ - active duty for
six months —
in Wisconsin.
I
NN
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Staff Writer
E
ach morning, Lewis
Barr wakes up about
5:30 to do his stretches
and run three miles.
Yet during the past six
months, Mr. Barr has added
a noticeable gesture to his
exercise schedule. He stops
along his running course to
salute the American flag.
"It's a great feeling seeing
that flag," says Mr. Barr, a
U.S. Army reservist who has
been working in the process-
ing unit at Fort McCoy in
Wisconsin. "I know I am an
American and am thankful
to live in this kind of place.
Any inconvenience my fami-
ly is experiencing is nothing
next to others."
Just weeks after Saddam
Hussein invaded Kuwait in
August, U.S. Army garrison
reserve unit 50-64 was one of
the first divisions called to
duty to Fort McCoy.
Among the reservists was
Lt. Col. Lewis Barr, 49, the
director of human relations
and services for MichCon
and a member of Temple
Em,anu-El in Oak Park. He
volunteered for the reserves
26 years ago so he could
serve the United States
without being drafted for the
Vietnam War.
A week after he got his
phone call in August, Mr.
Barr left for Fort McCoy and
began processing applica-
tions for troops from the
Midwest heading to Saudi
Arabia.
At Fort McCoy, doctors
and dentists check health,
dog tags are prepared, and
legal affairs are put in order.
Troops then leave Fort
AT 'WAR
McCoy on military planes to
another fort on the east coast
for basic training before
leaving for the gulf.
"No one expected our in-
volvement over Kuwait,"
Mr. Barr says. "But I believe
strongly in what we are do-
ing. This man (Saddam Hus-
sein) is a monster.
"This is unfortunate, but I
am fortunate to be able to
help," Mr. Barr says. "War
is one of the great moral
disasters of our time."
Mr. Barr, an attorney spe-
cializing in labor and
employee relations, has been
helping soldiers select
powers of attorney and draft
wills. He also advises them
about legal rights.
Under the Soldiers and
Sailors Civil Relief Act of
1942, those men and women
fighting for the United
States are protected from
legal proceedings, and can
cancel leases and can reduce
interest rates on loans as low
as 6 percent, Mr. Barr says.
In his six months, Mr. Barr
has witnessed a melting pot
of cultures come through
Fort McCoy, including black
and Indian physicians and
Hawaiian nurses. Also
relatively new to this war
are the large numbers of
women serving in the
military, he says.
"It's a very inspiring
thing," Mr. Barr says. "Most
Mr. Barr has
become Lt. Col.
Barr full-time.
are ready to go, despite the
risk and their families. I'd
say 99.9 percent have the
most positive attitudes."
Up to 300 soldiers a day
have been processed at Fort
McCoy. If needed, the fort,
the largest mobilization site
in the country, could process
50,000 in one day.
"On the day they leave, it
is difficult," Mr. Barr says.
"Everybody tries to be cou-
rageous. It is sad."
Of those, very few have
been Jewish, Mr. Barr says.
Mr. Barr says his situation
is better than most. He has
been able to return home
every few weeks and his
company has been suppor-
tive.
Though chances of Mr.
Barr going to the Middle
East are remote since his
specialty is labor relations,
he is prepared to go. He is
more concerned that a
lengthy war could jeopardize
his position at MichCon.
During Mr. Barr's
absence, his job is being
held. It has temporarily been
divided up among the
department's 50 employees.
Yet contract negotiations for
the company begin in
September, and if Mr. Barr
is not there, someone will
need to take his job. By law,
he is entitled to return to the
company, but not necessari-
ly in the same position.
"It's a significant disrup-
tion in our lives," says Mr.
Barr, who lives in
metropolitan Detroit with
his wife, Rochelle, and
daughter, Allison. "It is
difficult, but whatever I am
doing is a small contribu-
tion."
Because he has been away
from his civilian job for most
of the past six months, Mr.
Barr has faced a • financial
loss. His MichCon job pays
significantly more than the
military position. But, he
says, it affects his family
only in the short term.
"I practice law while I am
on active reserve and I help
a lot of people," Mr. Barr
says. "It is a nice way to do
public service."
As a Jew, Mr. Barr says he
has strong feelings for
Israel. And, he says, he is
proud to be one of the
American Jews actively
helping the U.S. military,
which is protecting Israel.
Israel's restraint, he says,
is making her look good.
"I am not convinced Israel
has come to grips with her
political problems," he says.
"This is a start, a new
beginning for Israel."
He has been home a few
weeks, getting work in order
at MichCon. And he returns
to Fort McCoy next week,
just after his 50th birthday.
"I want to do the job for
our country," he says.
BARR LEWIS S
010 30 9584
90 08 14
JA
LTC
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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