Volume 73 • Number 4 • 2019 The Jewish Veteran A Jewish Voice for Veterans and a Veteran’s Voice for Jews Support Confessions of a Veteran Klansman: How the U.S. Army Deborah Sampson Act Radicalized a Soldier Page 4 By Harrison Heller sionally include racial Hate groups have always existed, but slurs in their conver- Ensuring Our Future in the current environment they have sations. When he was Page 6 emerged from the shadows. Some new seven-years-old, his actors have jumped from the digital cousin started dating From Our Archives world to the physical world to start col- a black man. His par- Page 8 laborating with older hate groups. ents told him not to According to a MilitaryTimes poll speak with his cousin. Book Review in October 2017, one in four troops wit- “Interracial relation- nessed examples of white nationalism From Disarmament ships should not exist among their fellow troops. The poll to Rearmament: because mixed kids also found that 42 percent of non-white The Reversal of have no place in this active duty troops reported personally U.S. Policy toward world because they do experiencing white nationalism within not know where they Sgt. Buckley on duty in Afghanistan at Camp Harriman / West Germany 1946–1955 Forward Operating Base Orgun-E Page 16 the military. belong,” Buckley said In September, Parents for Peace, they told him. Leonard Wood, Missouri, Buckley felt a group that fights all forms of ex- At school Buckley had few friends the military used sophisticated meth- Correction: In the tremism, organized a discussion and said his peers often bullied him, ods in order to dehumanize other peo- previous issue of in Washington, D.C. The audience leaving him feeling broken and alone. ple. He said commanding officers fre- The Jewish Veteran, heard from three panelists, including When he told his parents about his best quently used ethnic slurs to describe we mistakenly Christopher Buckley, an Afghanistan friend at the time who was of Lebanese the people he would be fighting against identified a veteran who joined the Ku Klux Klan. descent they said, “That is the problem in Arab countries. He considered it photograph of Buckley had a seemingly nor- with this country.” similar to using racial slurs during oth- Sandra Cantor on mal upbringing with his family in After September 11, 2001, mili- er U.S. conflicts when describing the the front page as Cleveland, Ohio, but can now see the tary recruiters went to Buckley’s high Germans, Japanese, and Vietnamese. Linda Singer. first sign of where his hatred originat- school and he decided to enlist in order At the rifle range, paper targets that We regret our error. ed. His parents were never racist in to get revenge for those attacks. started out as silhouettes of a person public, but at home they would occa- During basic training at Fort Continued on page 11 No Longer Missing in America By Larry Jasper mony on September 26 brought 12 a flag detail, and an honor guard rep- Thanks to the Missing in America veterans and five spouses of veterans resenting all U.S. military branches. program, a special internment cere- to their final resting place at Sarasota I was honored to carry the cre- National Cemetery mains of Pfc. Charles William in Florida. The re- Livingston, a World War II veteran mains of these in- who passed away in 2011 at the age of dividuals were un- 85. claimed for as long Other members and patrons who as 14 years before represented the JWV Department of Now is the time this ceremony. Florida at the event included Georgi to register for More than 400 Jasper, Boris Stern, and Dr. Bill Luria. Capitol Hill Action people attended the The Missing in America program ceremony, which was founded in 2006 to locate, iden- Days and NEC included a motor- tify, and inter the unclaimed remains Page 3 cade of veterans of veterans through joint efforts be- Urns lined up for the ceremony and final tribute. and county police, Continued on page 6 CONTENTS D’vrei HaShomrim ...................2 JWV in the Community .......12 Message From the National Ladies Auxiliary ....18 Commander ..............................3 Museum News........................20 On The Hill .................................4 Taps ............................................ 22 Membership Corner ...............6 D'vrei HaShomrim THE JEWISH The Bad Rap on Chanukah VETERAN By Rabbi Mark L. Winer, JWV National Chaplain The Jewish Veteran is the Official Publication of the Chanukah gets a bad rap. Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America In the Jewish tradition, Chanukah is regard- National Commander Harvey Weiner ed as a minor holiday. Indeed, for hundreds of National Editor years, observant Jews were forbidden from cele- Managing Editor Cara Rinkoff brating Chanukah. Those who commemorated the Graphics/Production Editor Christy Turner Maccabees’ victory would receive no part of the EDITORIAL OFFICE “World to Come,” according to the Mishnah, the 1811 R Street, NW • Washington, D.C. 20009 foundational compilation of the Talmud. Telephone (202) 265-6280 x413 Fax (202) 234-5662 Only when the focus of Chanukah shifted to E-mail [email protected] the miraculous oil lasting eight days, was the fes- Web Site www.jwv.org tival grudgingly admitted into Jewish observance. The Jewish Veteran is published 4 times a year: The story of the one day supply of oil which burned Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, by the for eight days appears a few hundred years after the Jewish War Veterans Mishnah in the Gemara. of the United States of America Some modern Jews dislike Chanukah because 1811 R Street, NW which one or more members have served in our na- Washington, DC 20009 many Jewish parents in contemporary America set tion’s armed forces. Periodical postage paid at Washington, DC, and at up Chanukah as a Jewish counterpart to Christmas. Chanukah is the festival which most poignant- additional mailing offices. No matter how wonderful Chanukah is, it cannot ly speaks to modern Jews. Like the Maccabees, Postmaster: Send form 3579 to Jewish War Veterans, possibly hold a candle to what Christmas means to we modern Jews stand up for our beliefs. We fight 1811 R Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009. Christians. With the exception of Easter, Christmas anti-Semitism wherever and whenever it rears its Subscription price in the United States is $5.00 per year, is the most important holy day in the Christian year. included in membership. Nonmember subscriptions: ugly head. We stand up for Jewish rights here in $10.00. Single copies: $2.50. Even eight days of presents and the most beautiful America and in Israel. American Jews spearhead- Photos and articles submitted to The Jewish Veteran Chanukah Menorah cannot compete with what the ed protests which culminated in the liberation of shall be used at the discretion of the organization. The Christmas tree, the creche, and the nativity mean Russian and Ethiopian Jews. Our people recov- opinions expressed in signed articles and letters in this to Christians. ered from the worst genocide ever perpetrated magazine are not necessarily those of JWV. Chanukah may not be so important in the against any people. We both re-established the Advertising information and rates available from the Editorial Office. JWV assumes no responsibility for Jewish tradition, nor does it really work as the State of Israel after 2,000 years of exile and built products and services advertised in this publication. Jewish version of Christmas, but Chanukah is a American Jewish life to a level of strength and © 2019 by the Jewish War Veterans of the USA. meaningful festival for modern Jews who delight depth of observance and study without parallel in NPA#112285 • ISSN 047-2019. in being loyal Jews and at the same time rejoice Jewish history. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. in being loyal patriots in their native and adopted Like the Maccabees of the Chanukah story lands. From my perspective, Chanukah is a partic- we balance a healthy traditionalism and a sensi- ularly important holiday, for American, Israeli, and ble enjoyment of modernity. Proud, strong, and Display your JWV modern Jews everywhere in the world. It is espe- free, we rejoice as heirs to the noble legacy of the Membership Proudly! cially powerful in its message to Jewish families in Maccabees. The JWV supply store isn't just for pins and poppies! You can also purchase Can you help identify this Jewish soldier? JWV branded badges, caps and jackets! Gabriel Salinger from the South American country in Pilsen until the 16th Armored Division liberated of Chile is trying to identify the soldier in these pho- the town on May 6, 1945. The unidentified soldier Shirts, caps, tographs. Salinger’s grandfather, Heinz Salinger, is was a member of the 16th Armored Division and and jackets! on the right hand side of the middle photograph. gave Salinger his shoulder patch. The photo show- The other young man is Felix Kahn. They were ing just the soldier was taken in front of the Great stepbrothers who escaped from a train transporting Synagogue in Pilsen on June 16. Both of the young them between concentration camps. A bombed out men were Jewish, and they assumed the soldier section of railroad tracks forced their train to stop, was also Jewish because of his prayer shawl. allowing them to escape. The men made their way If you can help identify him, please contact to Pilsen in the Czech Republic by walking at night The Jewish Veteran by mail or email. and hiding during the day. They hid in a basement Post Banners Pins! and Flags! Visit the online store at the JWV website or contact Pat Ennis at 703-753-3733 or by email: [email protected] For JWV caps, call Keystone Uniform Cap Corporation Phone: 215-821-3434 • Fax: 215-821-3438 www.keystoneuniformcap.com/Jewish-War-Veteran -Caps.html 2 The Jewish Veteran Volume 73 • Number 4 • 2019 www.jwv.org MESSAGE FROM THE COMMANDER National Commander Harvey Weiner Article II of the JWV Constitution states: the transfer of military funds, some of which was and I visited a “This Organization is civilian and shall not be earmarked for daycare and schools for soldiers and Mar yland VA used for the promotion of political candidates, their families, to build a border wall.