Attention
Gentlemen!
Jewish vets gather to honor their fallen.
BILL CARROLL
Special to the Jewish News
Illir as anyone invited
to President
.
George W. Bush's
breakfast for war
veterans at the White House on
Memorial Day?
Are they pleased Congress final-
ly agreed to build a World War II
Memorial in Washington, D.C.,
after eight years of bickering?
Has anyone seen the new Pearl
Harbor movie and how realistic
did they think it was?
The slightly more than 100
Jewish war veterans who gathered
at Machpelah Cemetery in
Ferndale Sunday, May 27, for a
Memorial Day observance were
solemn and businesslike — and d
not too concerned about such
current issues.
It was a cold and windy morn-
ing, threatened by rain clouds,
and the Jewish War Veterans of
the United . States of America-
Department of Michigan and
Ladies Auxiliary, along with
Canadian and Russian Jewish war
veterans, wanted to make sure
their International Memorial Day
service would be completed.
"My invitation [to the White
House breakfast] must have gotten
lost in the mail," quipped one vet.
"I think only Republicans were
invited," cracked
another. "That's
not so," snapped
a third. "The
Disabled
American
Veterans chose
most of the 250
veterans who
were invited."
"I understand
Congress was
arguing about
exactly where to
put the [World
War II] Memorial [now
approved for the National
Mall]," said a veteran. "But what
difference does it make. I'm glad
they're finally building it some-
where so we can see it." About
550,000 Jewish U.S. servicemen
died in that war — and all sur-
viving U.S. veterans now are
dying at the rate of about 1,000
a week.
Presiding at the service were
JWV Michigan Department
Commander Herman Sherline of
Southfield, Past Commander
Milton Klein of Farmington
Hills, Shirley Schlussel of Oak
Park (representing the Ladies
Auxiliary) and Chaplain Tom
Tannis of Southfield. He led the
prayers, including the Mourners'
Kaddish. The JWV was formed
106 years ago to assist vets and
help fight anti-Semitism.
Commander Izzy Sigal of
Windsor headed a dozen vets
from the Balfour Branch of the
Royal Canadian Legion, and Lev
Kuperstein of Southfield spoke
on behalf of about 25 Russian
vets who attended. About a half
million Jewish Soviet servicemen
died in World War II.
Two buglers from Ferndale
High School played "Taps." A
small American flag fluttered
from each of about 200 graves in
the special veterans' section of
the cemetery, near a Howitzer
cannon on display. The graves of
vets buried with their families in
other parts of the cemetery also
received flags. Five new flagpoles
in the veterans' section represent
the Army, Navy, Air Force,
Marines and Coast Guard.
"I love all of our American
Jewish veterans," said
Department Commander
Sherline. "I love the. Canadian
Jewish War Veterans, I love the
Russian Jewish veterans, and I'm
proud to be Jewish."
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