Archive for month: April, 2021

By Cara Rinkoff

At the time this edition of The Jewish Veteran went to press, more than 500,000 people had died from the coronavirus. So far, there are vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson approved to protect against COVID-19.

A poll taken in February by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that approximately one-third of Americans either definitely or probably will not get the COVID-19 vaccine. Those who did not want to receive the vaccine were concerned about side effects, the overall safety of the vaccine, and others simply don’t trust the government.

To stop the spread of coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, estimates that between 70% and 85% of the U.S. population will need the vaccine. So far, the numbers of those who would get the vaccine are not high enough.

Due to the hesitancy of some individuals to get the vaccine, JWV member and Director of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System Dr. Steven Braverman spoke to participants at our National Executive Committee meeting in February.

Braverman urged JWV members to get the vaccine as soon as possible. He also wanted to reassure members about some of the myths they might have heard about the vaccine.

The one Braverman hears most often is that the federal government approved the vaccine too quickly to ensure its safety. Braverman said this is untrue. “These are the most scrutinized vaccines of any vaccines in history,” Braverman said. “The reason it happened so quickly was because it was funded by the government and so folks didn’t have to pause in between all of the different phase(s).” Braverman noted that no shortcuts were taken when it came to scientific oversight of the vaccine production.

Some individuals have also expressed concerns about the long-term risk of the vaccine. Braverman said “anybody who tells you they know the long-term risk of these vaccines, they’re lying, because nobody’s had one for more than five months.” However, Braverman said it is extremely unusual for any vaccine to have long-term side effects. The greatest chance for side effects always comes from “the implementation of the vaccine on people’s autoimmune response which in some folks get turned on more than the body should have an autoimmune response turned on.” But Braverman said this is not something that doctors are seeing with this vaccine in a greater proportion than any other vaccine. He also noted that anyone worried about the long-term effects of the vaccine should be more concerned with the unknown long-term effects of the coronavirus itself.

Braverman also contradicted another theory he’s heard about the coronavirus vaccine, saying there are no small microchips or nanochips in them that can allow the government to track the movements of those who get the shot.
Braverman said he participated in the phase three trial for the Moderna vaccine. He said that
he did not experience any severe side effects from either shot, simply a sore arm and mild fever with the second injection.

When it comes to how the Department of Veterans Affairs is handling distribution of the vaccine, Braverman said it depends on where you live. He said most VA facilities are reserving second doses so people can get it in a timely manner. The policies about who can receive a shot at a VA medical center also varies depending on the state. In most cases, you can only get a shot if you are already receiving care from the VA.

Volume 75. Number 1. 2021

By COL Herb Rosenbleeth, USA (Ret)
National Executive Director

Past National Commander David Hymes was one of my heroes. As a combat veteran in World War II, he received a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in France. Hymes was a member of the Greatest Generation.

According to the U.S. Army Registry, in September of 1941, about three months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hymes entered the U.S. Army as a private at Ft. Warren, Wyoming. In January of 1942 he was assigned to Panama, serving there for ten months, and receiving promotions to both Corporal and then Sergeant. After going through a 90-day intensive Officer Candidate School, he received a commission as Second Lieutenant.

He was first assigned to an all-black transportation company in Shelbyville, Illinois, until black officers replaced the white ones. Then Hymes transferred to the Adjutant’s General Corps and traveled to England. Due to his prior civilian experiences, Hymes was assigned as the Postal Finance Officer for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. Bonded for $500,000 and with nine men assigned to him, he landed at Omaha Beach in neck deep water, where he was strafed by German aircraft waiting to clear the beachhead. He set up operations in a 20-foot by 20-foot steel bar cage with the base post office in Cherbourg, France. While in France, Hymes was promoted to First Lieutenant.

Near the end of February 1945, Hymes was wounded. He was airlifted to England and placed in traction for 30 days. In England he was fitted with a special cast and transported back to the United States where he recuperated at Hines Hospital near Chicago. He was honorably discharged in February 1946.

Hymes was an enthusiastic supporter of JWV. Over the decades, he served in many positions on the local, state, and national levels. He always came to convention and to National Executive Committee meetings. He was always proud of the Department of Illinois and of Post 800 in Chicago. He was very, very proud of our current National Commander Jeff Sacks, who is from Chicago.

Hymes was a devoted, dedicated member of the National Museum of American Jewish Military History. He served on the Board of Directors and continually donated to the museum. He also would offer to match the donations of others, often significant amounts.

I remember going to Chicago some years ago for a meeting with Jewish organizations. Hymes was a wonderful host. He took me around to historical sites to meet with the Department Commander and with members of his post. Once we sat together on a bench in the National Museum of American Jewish Military History. We talked and laughed with each other for a long time while he told me a lot about his family and his life.

Hymes was 103 and it is my understanding that he was in good health. But COVID-19 got him. That awful virus is too much, especially for someone over 100.

Hymes was always a happy person. A generous, kind, wonderful person. As sad as we are that he passed away, we must all remember that he would have wanted us to enjoy this day, to socialize with each other, and to think good thoughts. That is how I most remember David Hymes.

Volume 75. Number 1. 2021

By Nona Safra

As a child of Philadelphia’s Jewish community in the 1950s, I was surrounded by Jewish World War II veterans, Holocaust survivors, and immigrants from all over Europe. These people were survivors, had ‘shell shock,’ and needed jobs and opportunities.

My Dad, Meyer Safra, served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps and became a member of JWV’s Milton Kelkey Post #575. As treasurer of the local credit union, evenings in our home were filled with post members coming over for loans, payments, etc. I listened intently to their stories about the war, their lives, and sometimes their struggles following WWII and Korea. What I didn’t realize was the impact those heroes would have on my life some six decades later when I retired to Alaska and found myself as the Jewish godmother to a group of amazing veterans living in the Last Frontier.

My love for Alaska began when I was eight. I was always excited to get the third grade’s “My Weekly Reader” in school and the January 1959 issue had a story about the 49th state, Alaska. I came home and suggested that we move to Alaska. My father was appalled and cried out, “what would we do there? There are not Jews there! Are you crazy!” That was that – or was it?

Jews had lived in Alaska for 200 years and the largest groups were merchants and men who arrived due to military service. On October 1, 1867, the day of the formal transfer of Alaska to the United States, the American soldier who is credited with lowering the Russian flag and raising the first American flag in Sitka was a Jew named Benjamin Levy.
Among the many furriers who moved to Alaska was David Green, a man who helped Anchorage survive the Great Depression and WWII by making muskrat liners and parkas for U.S. service members who were monitoring the Aleutian Islands for Japanese activity. The hundreds of Jews who came to Anchorage during the war were welcomed by both the Green family and the rest of the Jewish community.

Green’s son, Perry, came of age during World War II. His father’s work making military parkas helped Perry understand support for our troops and he served in the U.S. Army for three years. Alaskan Senator Dan Sullivan honored Perry Green’s enduring patriotism in 2020 saying, “I would say that Perry Green is the most patriotic American I know, and we have a lot of patriots in Alaska!”

The military bases in Alaska saw the arrival of hundreds of Jewish GI’s. Families, like the Greens in Anchorage and the Bloom family in Fairbanks, joined others in the Jewish community to host activities and organize Jewish holiday celebrations.

Among those Jewish GI’s was Private Joseph Sharp of Philadelphia. He was the first American killed in action on the North American continent in World War II. He died manning an anti-aircraft gun during an attack at Dutch Harbor in 1942 and posthumously received the Purple Heart for “meritorious acts.”

Another Jewish veteran who served in Alaska during WWII was Monroe B. Goldberg who was stationed in Alaska at Fort Richardson and Adak from 1943 to 1945. His archives comprise the Monroe B. Goldberg Collection at the Anchorage Museum in Anchorage.

It is reported that from the 1940s through the 1970s, Jewish military personnel outnumbered Jewish civilians in Alaska.

Jewish Chaplains at Elmendorf Air Base near Anchorage rotated every two years between Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox leaders, and often ended up serving the entire Jewish community throughout Alaska. They would travel for bar mitzvahs and offered other learning opportunities. The Fairbanks Chaplain, Seymour Gitin, inspired the community to organize a Jewish Sunday school. In 2016, Captain Michael Bram became the first Jewish chaplain at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in 25 years.

This was the Alaska that called out to me. I am the daughter of a veteran, married two men who served our country, and had a daughter who graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. My parents even named me after my father’s best friend who died during the Battle of the Bulge. So, in 2011, I retired to Alaska and a new chapter of my life began. I became honorary Godmother to the greatest group of veterans – the ones who are part of a transition program called VIPER.

VIPER provides a seamless transition into the civilian workforce and meaningful long-term employment opportunities for exiting active-duty service members and their spouses. VIPER approaches an end to veteran suicide by tackling its primary causes of veteran underemployment, unemployment, and homelessness.

I must confess I have a favorite Godson among my VIPER veterans, Kyle Kaiser. While listening to him one morning, I thought about how I could help and what I could do. I remembered Rabbi Hillel’s saying that “he who saves one life saves the world.” And, the teaching of my great-grandfather, a Rebbe, that the only mitzvah greater than celebrating Shabbat is to save a life. I thought of my Dad and his cousins who had served in WWII and all of those men of the Milton Kelkey Post who I heard tell their stories. It all came together. VIPER was a fit!

As Alaskans, we know all good plans involve the outdoors. VIPER has outreach programs that create quality connections between participants and mentors in their Operation Combat Pike program. These mentors assess and clearly understand participants’ career goals while providing an opportunity to answer questions and concerns they may have about the transition from the military.

Alaska has more veterans per capita than any other state, a connection with a long-standing military history, and an understanding that Alaska stands ready around the clock as the United States’ arctic defense. With a focus on Alaska’s unique military history, VIPER has a division aptly named the Alaska Military Heritage Museum. This division’s objective is to identify, collect, preserve, and interpret Alaska’s rich military history from the remote Aleutians to interior locations in Alaska.

I am also involved with the Alaska Jewish Museum. It is an amazing place to learn about the role of Alaska during WWII, the Jews who wanted to leave Europe, and former Army Air Corps members who were part of Operation Magic Carpet which brought Yemini Jews to Israel. The Museum is collecting stories of veterans and their families who were stationed in Alaska. If you, your relatives, or friends have lived in Alaska, were stationed in Alaska, or were involved with military projects that affected the state, we invite you to submit your written stories directly by email or contact us to record your oral histories.

You can contact the Alaska Jewish Museum at www.alaskajewishmuseum.com.

Volume 75. Number 1. 2021