20 | JUNE 29 • 2023
HER ES
OUR COMMUNITY
I
n “Taking Time to Remember,” my
cover story in the May 25 edition of
the JN, I offered a reminder to try
to set aside some time over the long
Memorial Day weekend to honor the
sacrifice made by our Jewish men and
women veterans of blessed memory.
More specifically, I invited our readers
to join the Jewish War Veterans (JWV),
Department of Michigan, at
one of two ceremonies com-
memorating the holiday.
Rabbis Michael Moskowitz
of Temple Shir Shalom
and Jennifer Kaluzny of
Temple Israel conducted
the services at Machpelah
Cemetery and Hebrew
Memorial Park, respectively,
on Sunday, May 28.
Besides trying to generate a better
turnout to honor the JWV, my major
objective was to encourage the pub-
lic, and the JWV membership for that
matter, to bring members of their fam-
ilies to these events. In particular, it’s
imperative that we educate younger
generations to carry on the tradition
of honoring our veterans. I’m happy to
report that my appeal moved the needle
for a few people.
HONORING UNCLE ABE
Steve Lash of Bloomfield Hills attended
the JWV Machpelah Cemetery service.
He was a captain in the U.S. Air Force,
serving stateside during the Vietnam War.
Steve is not a JWV post member, but
his passion for remembering his fellow
comrades in uniform was preceded well
before he was a member of the armed
services. In fact, it turns out he has visited
Machpelah Cemetery on Memorial Day
weekend since he was a child.
“I would accompany my father,
Irving, along with my brothers Harvey,
Myles, and my sister Sarita Bagdade,
to honor my father’s brother — my
uncle Herman ‘Abe’ Lash. He was just
20 years old when he died in the Battle
of the Bulge in France during WWII.
I was just 15 months old at the time of
his death on Jan. 11, 1945.” It was less
than four months away from Germany
surrendering.
This Memorial Day weekend, Steve was
moved by my call-to-action to observe
the annual ceremony conducted by
Michigan’s JWV.
“I read your article,” said Steve. “It was
a wonderful piece. In
fact, it was your arti-
cle that made me say,
‘I’m getting my kids to
come with me to the
cemetery this year.’”
That included both his
children and grand-
children.
Steve was accompa-
nied by his daughter
Rebecca Rubin, her
husband, Adam, their
18-year-old son Noah,
and another grandson
Drew Lash, 17. Three
generations strong per-
forming the mitzvah of
honoring the JWV and
the hero that was their Uncle Abe.
“It’s great to be here,” Noah said. “It’s
a reminder for people who forget the
Jewish impact in war. We’re such a small
population, but it’s a lot more than you
think. It’s underappreciated.”
“It’s really meaningful to come,” Drew
said, sharing his cousin’s sentiment.
“We’re not here forever, and we need to
remember everything, not just the impact
Jews have had in combat but on America
in general.”
Surrounded by his teenage grandsons
only makes the loss of Steve’s Uncle Abe
at 20 years old even more profound, more
unimaginable, more heart-wrenching.
“
Abe was just three years older than
these kids when he died.” He was in fact
around the same age, only 18, when he
enlisted to serve and protect his country.
Three generations from the Lash family honor their Uncle Abe at
Machpelah: Drew and Steve Lash, Noah and Rebecca Rubin.
Next generation steps up to honor our veterans.
Alan
Muskovitz
Contributing
Writer