OBITUARIES Picked up at a Comer in New York City
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SUMMER 2004 - THE AVI NEWSLETTER OBITUARIES picked up at a comer in New York City. gev until his jeep was blown up on a land He was then taken to a camp in upper New mine and his injuries forced him to return York State for training. home one week before the final truce. He returned with a personal letter nom Lou After the training, he sailed to Harris to Teddy Kollek commending him Marseilles and was put into a DP camp on his service. and told to pretend to be mute-since he spoke no language other than English. Back in Brooklyn Al worked While there he helped equip the Italian several jobs until he decided to move to fishing boat that was to take them to Is- Texas in 1953. Before going there he took rael. They left in the dead of night from Le time for a vacation in Miami Beach. This Havre with 150 DPs and a small crew. The latter decision was to determine the rest of passengers were carried on shelves, just his life. It was in Miami Beach that he met as we many years later saw reproduced in his wife--to-be, Betty. After a whirlwind the Museum of Clandestine Immigration courtship they were married and decided in Haifa. Al was the cook. On the way out to raise their family in Miami. He went the boat hit something that caused a hole into the uniform rental business, eventu- Al Wank, in the ship which necessitated bailing wa- ally owning his own business, BonMark Israel Navy and Palmach ter the entire trip. We were told that the Uniform Rental Service. He and Betty name of the ship was the Merrieannic but raised two children, Bonnie and Marc, Al was born in 1926 and was we were never sure of that. both of whom are committed Jews and raised in Greenpoint, a particularly rough are devoted to the state of Israel. Between neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. He had The ship passed the British Block- them, they gave Al and Betty six wonder- to fight every day because he was one of ade and arrived somewhere near Tel Aviv ful grandchildren. the very few Jews in the neighborhood. where it was sunk in the harbor. The pas- He left Greenpoint to fight in World War sengers were taken to various places within In 1998 we had a “Reunion” of II at the age of 17. After being rejected Israel and the crew were questioned about five of the “Machalniks” in North Caro- by the Paratroopers and the submarine their skills. Since Al had been a gunnerʼs lina. They had not been in touch with each service because he was too big for either, mate in the US Navy, he was assigned to other for 50 years but with internet and he joined the Navy and volunteered for a the Hail Hayam. He always liked to say other “sleuthing” methods they managed branch known as the Armed Guard-Navy that he was put in charge of all the guns of to find each other and arrange for the time gun crews on merchant ships. The Armed the Israeli Navy-both of them. He stayed together. Guard had the highest rate of fatalities in ,in the Hail Hayam awhile and participat- the Navy. He served on Liberty Ships in ed in the raids on Tyre. His departure was They came from Canada, Kan- the South Pacific and was in on seven in- prompted by meeting Moshe Dayan in a sas, Florida, Pittsburgh and North Caro- vasions for which he received commen- bar. Dayan said all the action was down lina (until recently from South Africa). It dations for his service. in the Negev and so Al and his buddy fol- was a wonderful time and many memories lowed him down to the desert where they were shared. The other men were Harvey Upon return to Brooklyn Al joined the Hayot HaNegev. They were (Sarolnikov) Sirlin (now deceased), Al worked several jobs including that of a sent into battle with only a hand grenade Twersky, Robert “Esky” Klaper, and Jack stevedore on the New York docks, his and told to get weapons from dead Arabs. Benatan. We have a wonderful video of fatherʼs business, etc. He boxed in the He served in the Armored Car and Jeep that reunion with two hoursʼ worth of re- PAL League and played Semi-Pro Foot- Company, 9th Battalion, Palmach Hane- membrances shared by all. ball. During this time he began to hear gev Brigade and is pictured on p. 34 in the about the struggle to establish the State book “Machal” . One of their duties was Al was always very proud of the of Israel and he was fascinated with the to take advantage of every truce declared part he played in the establishment of the fact that Jews were fighting for a Home- by the UN by driving all over unclaimed State of Israel. He died on Feb. 25, 2004 land. While at a meeting run by Barney territory in jeeps with Israeli flags. The after a long, valiant fight with pancreatic Ross, Al overheard some men who were UN would think that Israel was in con- cancer. His only request was for his coffin laughing at the procedures-saying that no trol of those areas and declare them to be to be draped with both the American and one there would ever go to fight. He con- part of Israel. Al always felt that they had Israeli flags. fronted these men and insisted he wanted secured much extra land for the State by to go. That encounter was the beginning utilizing those tactics. He was in on the Betty Wank of several meetings in which he was taken capture of Beersheva and delighted in Condolences to to unknown places (even blind-folded at showing his wife many years later what Betty Wank first), interrogated and investigated until had become of the tiny two-street town 2603 NW 103rd Ave. #310 he was approved and told to wait to be they had captured. He fought in the Ne- Sunrise, FL 33322d 8 Continued on page 10 SUMMER 2004 - THE AVI NEWSLETTER OBITUARIES Letters to the More on Israel Editor Navy’s First To the Editor- Warship During the Sar-el, volunteers for Isra- el, program, in which my wife and I participated recently, they provides some cultural activities. I was very pleased to learn that one program featured Zipporah Porath commenting on her Rochelle and Edward Chinsky book Letters from Jerusalem, 1947-1948. Edward Chinsky: Radio Operator with LAPSA Zippy, a member of AVI, gave a mov- Northland, Eilat ing, funny and, for me, a poignant presenta- The former U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Edward Chinsky died on tion of her experiences. I was inducted into April 8, 2004. Ed had served as a ra- the Haganah at the same time as she, and we Northland. dio operator in, as it was known the were both members of the Hebrew University Lineas Areas de Panama, Israel’s Air Palmach unit and participated in the same or The photo with my article Transport command. He was a mem- similar missions. I later immensely enjoyed in the Fall 2003 edition of the News- ber of the C-46 crew that flew Yigal Zippy’s book, which had outstanding reviews. letter shows the Northland being Yadin to Paris on November 11, 1948. towed, on October 3rd 1947, with her for a meeting of the U.N. For information on the book: e-mail hapless passengers to a British ‘del- [email protected]. For information on the egation’ awaiting her at Haifa’s ‘pier Ed had served with the Roy- Sar-El program: e-mail [email protected] of tears.’ al Canadian Air Force during World or the website www.sar-el.org. Pamela is an War II. After the Israel-Arab war he American living in Tel Aviv. She is the coordina- This newly-acquired photo of returned to Canada, trained as an ac- tor of the Sar-El program. the Northland was taken in WW2 dur- countant eventually becoming con- ing her US Coast Guard service in the troller of Federal Department Stores Irv Fellner Greenland Patrol. She’s being towed in Highland Park, MI. His wife of fifty after her propeller was damaged by years, Rochelle, pre-deceased him. A To the Editor- ice while chasing a German vessel. son and daughter-in-law, David and The seaplane seen on her fantail was Eva Chinsky, a daughter and son-in- Recently I met Shlome Gazit and we were lowered onto the sea via a boom for law, Debi and Hartley Harris, survive _talking about aliyah Bet. He had not heard of take-off, and lifted aboard the same him. He leaves four grandchildren. our book The Jews Secret Fleet. I sent him one. I way after landing. have since received from him a book in Hebrew Condolences to by Reuben Aharoni Leaning Masts: Ships of the In this photo, taken during Mrs. Deborah Harris Illegal Immigration after World War II. Unfortu- the 1950s in Haifa Port, she’s in her 4800 Leonard Court nately, copies are no longer available. I am of- final career as the Israel Navy’s Eilat West Bloomfield, MI 48322 fering to photocopy a page on which anyone’s A-16. ship appears. Please remember that the page is Eddy Kaplansky all in Hebrew. Write me by mail, not e-mail. The book was actually published in 1997 and I am sorry that they did not see any reason to let us know or maybe some people do know and I am the one that is out in the cold.