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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

