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For The Troops

A Jewish soldier fundraises to help
injured comrades.

Shelli Liebman Dorfman

Senior Writer

Ann Arbor

A

fter Shabbat ended on July 3,
and in the midst of a swelter-
ing heat wave, Colten Baitch
donned his Army uniform, a University
of Michigan cap, two combat vests and
a backpack filled with 85 pounds of
lead weights, bricks and rocks.
And then he took a run through the
streets of downtown Ann Arbor.
It was Baitch's way of showing support
for and raising funds for fellow troops
who have been wounded in action.
A U.S. Army specialist, Baitch, set to
deploy to Afghanistan in a few weeks
after serving two tours of duty in Iraq,
has been home in Ann Arbor visiting
his parents, Sara and Dr. Larry Baitch.
During his 3.4 mile run, Baitch was
accompanied by friends and family,
including his dad, who rode alongside
him on a bike. His brother, Asa, 21, an
Aleksander Chasid studying geologic
information systems at the University
of Maryland, cheered Colten on as part
of a group who came out from the
Ann Arbor Chabad House where the
Baitches are members.
Colten Baitch ran to raise funds and
awareness for the Wounded Warrior
Project, which helps severely injured
service men and women.
"It seems like people are starting to
forget the American soldiers out there;'
Baitch said. "People live their daily lives
and worry about traffic and forget that
there are American soldiers who are
maimed or killed."

Raising Funds
Most of the $1,000 in donations already
collected have been made online or by
check. But, said Larry Baitch, during the
ride, "many people shoved bills into my
cycling jersey pockets."
Colten Baitch, 24, has been in the
Army for five years and is a cavalry
scout in the 4th Infantry Division. "He
should be a sergeant by his first month
in Afghanistan;' said his dad. "Colten's
philosophy about serving in the Middle
East is that, as a Jewish soldier, he is not
only fighting for the U.S., but against
the enemies of Israel."
Based in Fort Carson, Colo., Baitch

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U.S. Army Spc. Colten Baitch, an Iraq war

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vet who will soon head to Afghanistan,

poses with brother Asa.

has been training there for Afghanistan.
"He has continued his training on his
own while in Ann Arbor, packing rocks
and bricks into a backpack to create the
85-pound load similar to the weight he
will be bearing full-time in the field,
which is more than half his weight':
Larry Baitch said.
"The night of the run, Shabbat ended
at 10:07 p.m. We ran home from shul at
the Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan (a sec-
ond synagogue where the family holds
membership) and then met at Forest
and South University." The run began
at 10:30 p.m., with Colten reaching his
finish line in 26 minutes, four minutes
ahead of his scheduled time.
"The weather was hot; Colten soaked
through his uniform and was drenched
by the time he finished:' his dad said.
The run was held in honor of Alan
Kenneally, a sergeant in Baitch's platoon
who was shot in Iraq more than a year
ago and remains hospitalized. Baitch
refers to him as his mentor.
"I wanted to fundraise for those who
are injured by asking the civilians who
sometimes sit back and watch the news
during this war to act instead of talk:'
Baitch said. "Soldiers are always doing
things for other soldiers. We have each
other. But we are not only in this as sol-
diers, we are in this as a nation:'

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Generation to Generation

Religious School directed by
Rabbi Aaron L. Starr,
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To register, contact Rabbi Starr at
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rabbistarr@shaareyzedek.org.

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To make a donation to
the Wounded Warrior
Project, contact www.
woundedwarriorproject.org
or (904) 296-7350.

I

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July 15 • 2010

AN

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