94 | APRIL 27 • 2023

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

50 Years Since the U.S. Left Vietnam
I

thought long and hard
about this week’s Looking
Back. With little fanfare
in the media, a significant
50th anniversary occurred last
month. On March 29, 1973,
the last American troops left
Vietnam.
Millions of
U.S. military
personnel served
in Vietnam.
Over 500,000
were in Vietnam
during the
peak year of
participation. By
the time the last troops came
home, 58,220 Americans had
been killed in action and more
than 150,000 were wounded. It
was a terrible toll.
I hesitated to write about
the Vietnam War because in
the 1960s and 1970s — and
still today — it was a highly
controversial military action
conducted by the United
States. It was a war that
touched many American
families and adversely affected
so many of those who served
in our armed forces.
I’m old enough to have been
in the draft. While still in high
school in 1971, I wondered if
my number would be picked.
I was lucky — my number was
248 and I was not drafted. I
joined the Marines later, but
as a volunteer. That is a big
difference from being drafted.
I found 354 pages of the
JN that had content about
Vietnam in the William
Davidson Digital Archive
of Jewish Detroit History. I

found a couple of mentions
of Vietnam in 1950s, but the
bulk of articles regarding the
Vietnam War are from the
1960s and 1970s.
BTW — Congress never
officially declared the Vietnam
War to be a “war.”
The Vietnam War had a
great impact upon Michigan’s
Jewish community. A number
of local men served in the war.
Paul “Pinch” Braunstein, who
ran for Mayor of Oak Park in
1991, served as an U.S. Army
airborne officer (March 15,
1991). Rabbi Craig L. Allen,
leader of the Livonia Jewish
Congregation in 1991, served
in Signal Corps (Feb. 8, 1991).
Sanford Greenberg served in
the Marines (Aug. 22, 1968).
Sadly, some who served
did not return. Pfc. Dennis
Greenwald, an Army
paratrooper, lost his life
assisting wounded comrades.
Greenwald received a
posthumous Bronze Medal for
his bravery (March 22, 1968).
As you might expect, the
Michigan chapter of Jewish
War Veterans of America
(JWV) never forgot our
Vietnam vets. By 1970,
the Michigan JWV and its
Auxiliary, chaired by Ann
Rubin, had sent thousands
of packages every year to
service members of all
“races, religions and creeds”
in Vietnam. Their position
was: “Regardless of what
your politics concerning the
Vietnam War may be, the fact
remains that our American
boys are fighting in Vietnam”

(March 20, 1970).
The one story to read is
“Suffering the Pain,” published
in the Nov. 8, 1985, issue of
the JN. This moving article
addresses “the unsettling
memories for most men
who came of age during
the late-1960s and early
’70s.” Several local Jewish
men shared their personal
journeys as veterans,
such as Bob Mitchell,
Steve Hirshberg and Michael
Berkowitz. These are not easy
narratives to absorb, but their
stories are very important.
Fifty years have passed
since the Vietnam War, and
the world has moved on.
Inconceivable 50 years ago, a
very hopeful sign of progress
can be found in the wedding
announcement of Rachel
Helene Jacobs and Michael
Z. Allen. The newlyweds
honeymooned in Vietnam
(Sept. 6, 2002).

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN
Foundation archives, available for
free at www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair