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

continued on page 16

