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JWV-MI volunteers who provided the labor
of love in placing each flag. The activity
never ceases to have an impact on him.
“The reality,
” Reed said, “is that for each
veteran’s gravesite there is a very personal
story.
”
There are stories from every era and every
theater of war, some over a century old he’s
found in his research.
“I discovered a Jewish veteran who was
born in Russia,
” Reed said, “who came to

America before WWI, eventually joining
the 7th Calvary and fought in what was
known as the Pancho Villa Expedition in
1917, the U.S. Army’s fight against the forces
of Mexican revolutionary Francisco ‘Pancho’
Villa.
”
There is, of course, no escaping
heart-wrenching stories, like the 19-year
old pre-med student who volunteered for
the Marines during WWII, killed just six
months into active duty during the Battle of

Iwo Jima.
Also among the veteran souls interred at
Machpelah is 2nd Lt. Raymond Zussman,
who was posthumously awarded the Medal
of Honor for his acts of heroism during
WWII. Words alone defy description of his
acts of bravery under fire.
On Sept. 12, 1944, Zussman led his
bogged-down tank command on foot in
Noroy-le-Bourg, France, where his actions
resulted in 18 enemy soldiers killed, the

Miles Auster of JWV-MI places flags at Machpelah Cemetery.

JWV-MI honor their WWI comrades at Machpelah.

Ethan Gross of JWV-MI leads Kaddish prior to placing of flags at Machpelah Cemetery.

Honoring the Rubin family who sacrificed so much for our country.

MARK REED

MARK REED

GARY PACKARD

GARY PACKARD