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Adler recalls hearing an audible
gasp from the audience while sharing
Hackney’s incomparable military history.
In 2006, the Lackland Air Force Base
near San Antonio was renamed the
Hackney Training Complex in his honor.
“He was an absolute legend. When
he passed away years later, the funeral
procession was reported to be five miles
long,” Adler said.
After reflecting on Hackney’s legacy,
Adler concluded his remarks by offering
this message of inspiration. “If Nathan,
our JWV Americanism Award winner,
would say to me, Ed, as a cadet in the
JROTC in Flint, what can I hope to
achieve? I would tell him, Nathan, the
sky’s the limit! The sky’s the limit!”
YOM HASHOAH
On Sunday, May 5, more than 25
members of the JWV and Ladies
Auxiliary were proud once again to be
front and center at the Yom HaShoah
Commemoration at The Zekelman
Holocaust Center (The HC) in
Farmington Hills. As in years past, the
membership and the JWV Color Guard
were given the high honor of marching
down the center aisle of the auditorium
and posting the American and Israeli
flags as part of The HC’s Holocaust
Remembrance Day program.
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
The JWV Department of Michigan
covered a lot of mileage over the long
holiday weekend with their participation
in three major events taking place in
Oakland and Macomb counties.
On Sunday, May 26, the JWV held
its annual Memorial Weekend services
at Machpelah and Hebrew Memorial
cemeteries. Rabbi Daniel Schwartz of
Temple Shir Shalom offered prayers
and remarks during the 10:30 a.m.
program within the Veteran’s Section
at Machpelah Cemetery in Ferndale.
Rabbi Jennifer Kaluzny of Temple Israel,
a years-long participant in the JWV’s
Memorial Weekend remembrances,
presided over the 1 p.m. service at
JWV STEPS
UP AGAIN FOR
FISHER HOUSE
The Jewish War Veterans
Department of Michigan
(JWV) has been a longtime
supporter of Fisher House
Michigan.
The Fisher House
Foundation is best known
for its network of 97 comfort
homes where military and
veteran families can stay at
no cost while a loved one receives
medical treatment. The homes are
located at major military and VA
medical centers nationwide and in
Europe, close to the medical centers
they serve.
The JWV has been at the forefront
of supporting the existing Fisher
House on the campus of the VA Ann
Arbor Healthcare System. Plus, over
the last several months, they have
attended and contributed to a host
of activities toward the construction
of Fisher House Detroit, including
the official groundbreaking last
October.
The property is located at 7618
Woodward Ave. in Detroit’s New
Center area, which is the former
site of Lelli’s Steakhouse. It is close
to the John D. Dingell VA Medical
Center where the veterans of family
members staying at Fisher House
will be treated.
This past February, the
JWV was again on hand
to celebrate the symbolic
“Topping off Ceremony” at
the Detroit location, where
a construction beam was
placed on the building and
signed by attendees, several
of whom were JWV members.
Most recently, on April 20, the JWV
attended and was a contributing
sponsor for Fisher House Michigan’s
“Build it for the Brave Gala” at The
War Memorial in Grosse Pointe
Farms. The evening raised $475,000
toward the completion of Fisher
House Detroit, which is scheduled to
open later this year.
For more information, visit www.
fisherhousemichigan.org.
JWV members Mark Reed, Art
Fishman, Donald Schenk, Mark
Weiss and Larry Berry with
Fisher House Michigan Executive
Director Kate Melcher
Rabbi Daniel Schwartz
of Temple Shir
Shalom leads JWV’s
annual Memorial Day
Weekend services in
Machpelah Cemetery’s
veterans’ section.
@CAMERACLOUD AND FISHER HOUSE MICHIGAN
BRIAN FISHMAN