16 January 3 • 2019
jn
jn

O

n the day before Chanukah 
began, I received an early and 
priceless gift. It came in the 
form of an inspiring 
conversation I had 
with 93-year-old 
WWII Jewish War 
Veteran (JWV) Elvin 
“
Al” Rasof in his West 
Bloomfield apartment.
Al has received 
several prestigious 
awards for his ser-
vice, but this past Aug. 16, more than 
73 years after he flew in one of the 
last B-17 missions of WWII, Al was 
awarded France’
s Knight of the Legion 
of Honor, its highest commendation. 
The award, given to U.S. veterans who 
risked their lives during WWII to fight 
on French territory, was bestowed 
upon him in a private ceremony. 
The French government doesn’
t 
seek veterans out for the award. Al only 
found out about his eligibility after see-
ing information posted during one of 
his frequent visits to the website of the 
487th Bomb Group, of which he was a 
radio man and gunner during the war.
The official letter to Staff Sgt. Al 
Rasof from the Consulat General De 
France states: “You gave your youth to 
France and the French people. Many of 
your fellow soldiers did not return but 
they remain in our hearts … You saved 
us. We will never forget … Gratitude and 
remembrance are forever in our souls.
”
Although his bomb attacks over 
France in “Operation Venerable” played 
a pivotal role in the defeat of the remain-
ing German forces, Al made it clear that 
he did not want to be made out a hero. 
“I beg of you, I did nothing like the 
guys who flew before me and died,
” 
he told me. It was a request, a kindly 
demand really, he repeated several times 
during our two-hour visit.
If it had been up to a very modest 
and humble Al Rasof, that ceremony 
and recognition would have remained 
known only to those in attendance. That 
included Rabbi A. Irving Schnipper 
of the Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy 
Network, a friend and weekly visitor of 
Al’
s as well as a Korean conflict veteran. 
He shared the details with JN publisher 
Arthur Horwitz, which led to my meet-
ing Rasof.
In an attempt to take the spotlight off 
himself, Al redirected the conversation 
toward a cover story he wrote for the 
JN 16 years ago about his cousin, world 
boxing champion and WWII hero 

Barney Ross, who was awarded the Silver 
Star for his bravery. (Visit djnfoundation.
org to find Remembering a Fighter, Nov. 
8, 2002.)
Al “failed” to mention that in that 
same issue, the late JN Contributing 
Writer Bill Carroll wrote a related story 
that including Al’
s war experience. In 
true Rasof fashion, he downplayed his 
wartime role in that article; describing 
his bombing missions as “milk runs” 
toward the end of the war because of the 
diminished counter attacks by the soon-
to-be defeated German forces.
At every turn, Al shone the spot-
light on veterans other than himself. 
He recalls how a club made up of 14 
boyhood friends in his hometown of 
Chicago all enlisted. “I was so proud to 
be a microcosm of the Jewish communi-
ty contributing to the war effort,
” he said.
He honored one of those “boys” in 
1995, when he drove to Illinois to leave 
his 50th high school commemorative 
pin at the grave of his friend Sidney 
Frederick Barr. While Sydney was recov-
ering from an injury in a field hospital 
during WWII, German soldiers, sensing 
their impending loss, infiltrated the 
hospital and systematically went from 
bed to bed shooting each soldier who lay 
defenseless. Sidney was among them.

A TRUE MENTSH
Rasof spends the majority of his day in 
a recliner chair. The love he showed his 
caregivers during my visit was some-
thing to behold, a sentiment shared by 
Rabbi Schnipper: “He’
s so appreciative. 
No matter what people do for him, from 
that chair he exudes menschlichkeit.
” 
It’
s that same endearing quality he 
exhibited as a doting husband. Al spoke 
glowingly about his 64-year marriage to 
his beloved wife, Betty (Yack), whom he 
described as a “treasure.
” Betty passed 
away in 2009. Said Al: “
All I want is to 
walk hand in hand with Betty again.
” He 
told me with great pride that as a spouse 
of a veteran, Betty is laid to rest at the 
Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, 
Mich.
Blending sorrow with a sense of 
humor, Al shared with me the three 
things Betty said during one of their final 
conversations: “Take care of my sister 
Rose; I’
ll jump into your arms when you 
get here; and don’
t forget the casserole 
in the freezer.
” Betty passed away a week 
later, lying next to her beloved. 
Al made good on his promise, ensur-
ing Rose’
s well-being by visiting her 
every day for four years until her passing 
at age 101. It was a labor of love, a way to 
pay tribute to Betty’
s sister who “opened 

her home and heart” on Buena Vista in 
Detroit after the war to newlyweds Al 
and Betty Rasof. “Rose took us in,
” Al 
said. “She had one husband, one child, 
one bathroom and a Murphy bed for 
us — two nuch schleppers (Yiddish for 
hangers on).
”
Once settled in Detroit, Betty became 
a bookkeeper and Al, after several years 
as a retailer, earned his Ph.D. at Wayne 
State University. He spent the remainder 
of his career as an educator and admin-
istrator dedicated to helping make a 
difference for kids in the Detroit Public 
Schools.
Today, Al spends his days listening to 
books on tape and his favorite music. 
He is, as described by Rabbi Schnipper, 
“sharp as a whip.
” And, as I had the priv-
ilege of witnessing, he continues, as his 
94th birthday on Dec. 23 just passed, to 
have an insatiable thirst for getting the 
most out of every day of his life. 
“I have no complaints,
” Al told me. 
“I’
m surrounded by everything I love.
” ■

jews d
in 
the

TOP LEFT: Staff Sgt. Al Rasof with Consul 

General of France Guillaume Lacroix and 

Honorary Consul of France in Michigan Jean 

Mallebay-Vacqueur. TOP RIGHT: Rabbi A. Irving 

Schnipper blows the shofar for Al Rasof prior to 

the High Holidays.

Alan Muskovitz 

Award After Decades

WWII offi
 cer dedicates French decoration to his fallen comrades.

