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among her fellow JWV comrades, many
of whom are 50, 60, even 75-plus years her
senior.
Only one year out from having graduated
from the Frankel Jewish Academy (FJA), I
was immediately struck by Rachel’s confi-
dent yet humble demeanor. Describing her
as older beyond her years is a vast under-
statement. Hers was a story deserving to
share with our community.
Rachel was surprised by my invitation
to write about her, explaining she wasn’t
one to purposely draw attention to herself.
I reflected on the bigger picture of how
her joining the JWV could help usher in a
new generation of support for its mission
and legacy, which included defending the
rights and benefits of all service members
in peacetime and war, fighting antisemitism
and supporting the State of Israel.
In turn, her participation could inspire
those who may be considering serving our
nation and to the Jewish community as a
whole.
Rachel agreed to an interview. Several
conversations followed in the days ahead,
including with her parents, grandmother,
former Frankel school counselor, Army
recruiter, Rabbi Aaron Starr and the JWV
member who recruited her to join the orga-
nization. This is her story.
PATRIOTISM IN HER DNA
Rachel’s paternal grandfather, Morris Baker,
of blessed memory, was a corporal in the
U.S. Army. He fought in the Battle of the
Bulge during WWII and was awarded the
Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. His
wife, Rachel’s grandmother Beverly Baker,
still resides in Bloomfield Hills.
Rachel’s maternal grandparents, Zvi and
Yaffa Shevach, moved from Israel to the
U.S. in 1966 and 1970 respectively, where
they met and married. Zvi was drafted
into the U.S. Army and served during the
Vietnam era.
While she looks upon their service with
great pride, she admits that it wasn’t the
deciding factor in her enlisting in the Army.
“I’m not wanting to do something just
because other people are doing it,
” Rachel
said.
Nor was Rachel’s love for country and
desire to serve brought on by a sudden
epiphany during her junior year in high
school in 2020 when she began the
MIARNG application process.
Instead, Rachel says her unwavering
sense of patriotism and desire to serve
grew out of the examples set by her par-
ents throughout her childhood. “My par-
ents taught me, and brought me up to be,
very patriotic,
” she said.
That would include witnessing acts
of kindness her father, Adam Baker, has
exhibited over the years toward those
he’s encountered in the military and first
responders. Adam told me he will stop
and acknowledge them, thank them for
their service and, when the situation
presents itself, anonymously pick up their
checks in restaurants.
It’s no surprise then that Rachel began to
show an interest in, and respect for, those
in uniform from a very early age, an appre-
ciation that was even extended during her
family’s numerous trips to Israel.
ISRAEL LIKE A SECOND HOME
A love for Israel is inextricably forged in
Rachel’s family. As previously mentioned,
Rachel’s maternal grandparents are Israeli-
born. They live in Farmington Hills, but
most of their family still resides in Israel.
Adam Baker’s parents’ love for Israel was
so strong that on the last day of a family
trip to Israel in 1969, Adam’s father, Morris,
slipped away from his hotel for two hours,
returning with a surprise announcement
that he had just purchased an apartment
in Netanya, declaring to the family: “We’re
spending the summers here from now on.
”
Rachel was born on Jan. 8, 2003, seven
years to the day her WWII hero grand-
father Morris passed away. His legacy of
service and love for Israel lives on through
the granddaughter he didn’t have a chance
to meet. In her 19 years, Rachel has visited
Israel 14 times.
Adam recalls fondly how after one trip,
Rachel, just a grade-schooler at the time,
presented him with an 8½-inch card
she had made, unsolicited, to send to a
IDF Special Forces soldier the family had
befriended during a trip to the West Bank.
“Thank you for keeping us and Israel
safe,
” it read. “It was all spontaneous on her
part,
” Adam said, “based on what she felt
and nothing that I had prompted her to do.
I was touched and thought it was a very
sophisticated connection for someone of
her age.
”
Rachel’s appreciation for Israel’s Zionism
and service to country would grow over the
years as the Baker family, supporters of the
Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF),
would host Israeli soldiers who had come to
town to speak at FIDF events.
“I grew up around them in my home,
”
said Rachel. “I remember thinking at the
time that I thought this was a pretty cool
experience for a kid like me in elementary
school.
”
Sadly ironic, the annual trips Rachel
so cherishes to Israel, interrupted at first
by COVID, are now on hold for security
reasons since she was accepted into the
MIARNG. As of early September 2021,
men and women serving in the U.S. Armed
Services are restricted from traveling on
leave to countries in the United States
Central Command Area of Responsibility
(AOR), of which is Israel is a member.
FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE
While serving her country is in her imme-
diate future, Rachel’s end game is to one
day work in law enforcement. “From fourth
grade on, I was enamored with crime
Rachel Baker was sworn into the Michigan
Army National Guard on Nov. 4, 2020, at the
Military Entrance Processing Station in Troy.