Clockwise: Jewish war veterans Al
Colman, Dan Arnold, Willie Stone,
Charles Finkelstein and Bob Russman
look at memorabilia.
A New Battle
Aging Jewish War Veterans post fights to attract new and younger members.
Bill Carroll I Contributing Writer
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Joseph L. Bale Post #474 rather than merge
with the few other remaining JWV posts
in the state.
Several of them gathered at their com-
mander's home in West Bloomfield last week
to discuss their plight and make plans for
the near future, which includes a free dinner
get-together Wednesday, Sept. 12, at Glen
Oaks Country Club in Farmington Hills.
It'll be similar to a rallying call on the
battlefield, but in this case they'll be try-
ing to get the current members to become
more active and to recruit younger Jewish
vets in the community.
Fear Of Being Obsolete
Despite complaining about their age, most
are in their late 80s and feel a lack of energy
— "we're just tired:' bemoaned one. The
group seemed spry and feisty and passionate
about their cause as they reminisced about
their WWII exploits and even got into heated
discussions about organizational business.
"We don't want to become obsolete
10 September 6 • 2012
said Willie Stone of West Bloomfield, who
helped launch the post and has been post
commander five times over the years.
"Now is the time to really do something to
keep the Bale Post alive.
"We need more participation from our
current members and, most of all, we need
younger new members who are vets from
wars like the Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraq
and Afghanistan."
Al Colman of Southfield, the post's adju-
tant, put it succinctly: "We need member-
ship and leadership or the post dies:"
Stone said he hopes to "stir up the
troops" with a fiery speech at the Sept.
12 gathering, which will include com-
ments from other vets and a memoriam to
deceased members.
"There'll be no music and dancing,
just a good dinner and a serious business
discussion about the future of our post,"
Stone said.
Don't Want Merger
Bob Russman of Farmington Hills, the
post's representative to the Department of
Michigan JWV, pointed out there are 20
JWV posts in the state, and officials have
indicated that a merger would be benefi-
cial to everyone.
"But we disagree; we want to avoid that,"
Russman said.
The Bale Post has 93 members, a far cry
from the 450 members during the heyday
of hundreds of JVW posts nationwide at
the end of WWII in 1945. Some of the
other state posts now have fewer than 10
members.
Bale Post members pay $60 dues annu-
ally and meet officially two to three times
a year, usually at the commander's home
or in a room provided for them at Temple
Beth El in Bloomfield Township.
Members range from men like Gulf
War vet Rich Luterman of Farmington
Hills, in his late 40s — he's a Fox2 TV
meteorologist — to Iry Steinberg of West
Bloomfield, who is the post's oldest at 94
and highest-ranking member, holding the
rank of major.
Offer Many Services
"We try our best to maintain the many
services we've provided to the community
through the years, such as assistance to vets
in hospitals and nursing facilities, scholar-
ships to children of vets, contributions to
various charities:' explained Stone, "but it
isn't easy any more. Our main sources of
funding are dues and donations."
"In the good old days, we had bowling and
golf leagues with hundreds of members, and
many social events': recalled Dan Arnold of
West Bloomfield, the post's chaplain. "Now
we're just too old to do all that. We even had
a flourishing women's auxiliary."
The group's strong pride in being Bale
Post members is connected with the fact that
some of them knew war hero Joe Bale on the
European battlefields and even before that
when he was a "nine-letter man" in baseball,
basketball and track at Detroit's Central High
School.
"He was a real nice, mild-mannered kid
who was loved by everyone said Charlie
Finkelstein of West Bloomfield. "He got