AUGUST 4 • 2022 | 15
day when she received a text
from her MIARNG recruiter,
Sgt. 1st Class Shane DeRoso.
“I remember exactly what
part I was at on the sidewalk
of the JCC,
” Rachel said. The
message included a screen shot
of an email he had been in
receipt of from the liaison at the
Military Entrance Processing
Station in Troy that simply stat-
ed: “Baker is a go.
”
That text remains on her
phone as a constant reminder of
what she described as one of the
happiest days of her life.
“She just kept hanging in
there,
” said DeRoso, who was
instrumental in helping her get
through the arduous enrollment
process. “She would ask, ‘What
do I need to do,
’ and she would
just go and get it done. It’s great
to see somebody as good as her,
who deserves it, actually join
the military.
”
Navigating the maze of
enrollment included helping
Rachel secure assurances she
would be able to practice her
faith. “We wanted to make sure
on both sides, for us in the mil-
itary and for her,
” DeRoso said.
“We definitely made sure we
had all those answers to make
sure she could stay true to who
she is and wanted to be.
”
“I can’t express enough
gratitude toward my recruit-
er,
” Rachel said. “He helped
me with so many things that
will open doors for me in the
future.
”
On Nov. 4, 2020, just six
days after receiving her official
long-awaited approval, Rachel
Baker was sworn into the
Michigan Army National Guard.
“While reciting my oath in front
of a sergeant major, my hand
was shaking and I was slightly
slurring my words — it was a bit
intimidating. After that, I had a
huge grin on my face.”
FIRST IN HER SCHOOL
With her enlistment, Rachel
became the first FJA student to
enlist in the armed forces. I was
curious to hear about the reac-
tion, if any, from her peers to
her unique career path.
“The people who may have
given me criticism, I don’t really
care. I didn’t seek my peers’
approval over this. I sought my
teachers’
, parents’ and family’s
approval. I also knew this is
what I wanted to do. I knew it
wasn’t immoral. I knew it was a
good decision. So, I’m just kind
of stubborn like that. I make my
mind up about something. I’m
gonna do it,
” Rachel said.
Rachel particularly liked
the freedom of direction the
MIARNG offered. “The awe-
some part of the Army is that
you get to choose your job. In
the Air Force or Air National
Guard, you don’t necessarily
choose; you choose your top
three and you wait to see the
availability. You don’t know
until you sign on the dotted
line.
”
With her three-year enlist-
ment comes a commitment
to one weekend of training
per month and two weeks in
the summer, with a six-to-12-
month deployment likely for
her unit in the near future.
While the flexibility of her
MIARNG schedule could afford
her the opportunity to attend
college, she has chosen for the
time being to put those plans
on hold. Rachel was accepted
to Michigan State University
the day after she enlisted, and
she will defer a scholarship
she received from Wayne State
University.
“I don’t want to be just
another student for another
four years. It’s worth it to be
unique and not follow the path
everyone else is on,” Rachel
The Jewish War Veterans-
Department of Michigan
(JWV) held its annual
meeting and installation of
officers on Sunday, June
26, at Temple Shir Shalom.
Incoming commander
Mark Weiss thanked his
predecessor of the last four
years, Dr. Ed Hirsch, who
counted among his many
accomplishments the guiding
of the department through
the pandemic.
Despite the ebbs and flows
of COVID, Weiss reminded
those gathered of the JWV’s
participation in numerous
community-wide events and
philanthropic endeavors
over the last several months,
among them:
• A new project to identify
and place American flags
at grave sites of veterans in
several Jewish cemeteries
throughout Metro Detroit.
• Providing Honor Guards
at Jewish veteran funerals.
• Another successful
year of poppy sales, JWV’s
biggest fundraising effort
with monies supporting all
veterans in VA hospitals,
nursing facilities and veterans
homes.
• Sponsoring and
participating in the April
groundbreaking of The
Michigan WWII Legacy
Memorial in Royal Oak.
• Yom HaShoah at the
Zekelman Holocaust Center.
• Annual Memorial Day
services at Machpelah
and Hebrew Memorial
cemeteries, led by Rabbi
Moskowitz of Temple Shir
Shalom and Rabbi Jennifer
Kaluzny of Temple Israel,
respectively.
• Marching in the St. Clair
Shores Memorial Day Parade.
• The annual American
flag retirement ceremony
at the Great Lakes National
Cemetery in Holly for the
respectful and appropriate
disposal of aging flags.
Leading up to the event,
the JWV was responsible
for collecting flags through
drop boxes they had
placed at area temples and
synagogues.
• Marching in Oak Park’s
Fourth of July parade.
The JWV is looking forward
to once again participating in
Detroit’s annual Veterans Day
parade on Nov. 11. Plus, after
a two-year absence due to
COVID, the JWV is hoping to
be able to resume its annual
Christmas Day visits with
patients at the Battle Creek
VA Medical Center.
For more information about the JWV,
visit jwv-mi.org.
Jewish War Veterans and Ladies Auxiliary, Department of MI march in Oak
Park’s Annual Independence Day Parade on July 4.
What’s New at JWV
ART FISHMAN
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