NC Mellitz Testifies Before Congressional Committees

By Cara Rinkoff, Programs and Public Relations Director

On March 8, JWV National Commander Nelson Mellitz testified before a joint hearing of the Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committees. Mellitz testified alongside leaders of eight other organizations.

Several members of JWV were at the hearing to show support for Mellitz, including Vice Commander Barry Lischinsky, Chief of Staff Larry Rosenthal, Department of New Jersey Commander Selina Kanowitz, and New York Senior Vice Commander Gary Ginsburg.

Here is the statement he delivered:

Chairmen Tester and Bost, Ranking Members Moran and Takano, veterans in the audience, veterans sitting in Congress, veterans at this table. It’s my honor to serve, and sir, I’ve heard you say that before and I 100% agree, we serve not only in the military, we serve as veterans.

I have served 32 years in the United States Air Force, enlisted and as an officer. I enlisted in 1970, served Vietnam through Iraq, 2005-2006 in Iraq. It was my last assignment. The reason I say this is not to make myself sound good, but when I left the military originally, after the Vietnam War, I went to the VA, I didn’t go back a second time for a lot of years. The VA has improved, has substantially improved, they’re wonderful now in many areas. It’s because of what the VSOs have done, what you have done in Congress. Thank you for that.

I have the privilege and the honor to represent the Jewish War Veterans as the 93rd, sorry, 91st National Commander. The Jewish War Veterans is the oldest national veterans organization in the United States. We were formed in 1896 by a few veterans from the Civil War. The reason we were formed is because of antisemitism. Again, we’re the longest serving veterans service organization. We advocate for all veterans, not just Jewish veterans, but for all veterans, for benefits and services and we’ve been doing that for at least 127 years. In fact, we’ll be celebrating our 127th anniversary next week on March 15.

Our mission is strong and clear. Fighting for military and veterans benefits and services, advocating on behalf of Jewish veterans, Catholic, women, African Americans, Asians, all veterans… We oppose all forms of discrimination, but we concentrate especially and we’re outspoken on antisemitism…. We will defend the right of everybody in this United States and we will continue to do so… As antisemitism continues to grow in the United States, JWV asks you, Congress members, to specifically help defend our country’s freedoms and go forward and fight antisemitism and all forms of hate and bigotry wherever it exists. Key to that, in our opinion, and at JWV is educating the U.S. citizens.

We have priorities for the 118th Congress… I will emphasize a few things that are important not only to JWV but to you and we haven’t really mentioned them to the extent I think is necessary.

We know the PACT Act was instrumental when you passed it. It took a lot of pressure. It didn’t just take one year for the VSOs to put the pressure on Congress members, it took many years. Please keep that in mind for future efforts. But with the PACT Act we also know that VA started working on hiring people, organizing to address the 3.5 million new claims that they estimate will be filed. But yet, it’s not enough. I know there are some bills going through Congress right now that say give more money to doctors, nurses, administrators at VA. We need to push those bills through the system because if we don’t have those people in place, claims will increase and then the appeals will increase continuously.

Yes, we addressed toxic exposure by the PACT Act, do all the veterans out there know about their benefits? The VSOs and Congress have to stand out. Make sure they know those benefits, know that they can apply for the benefits, put claims in. You addressed in a previous meeting the predator lawyers. Yes, JWV agrees with Veterans of Foreign Wars, penalties should be applied to those people. But there should also be incentives for additional veteran service officers to come out, to be employed by the organizations like the Jewish War Veterans. Yes, we’re increasing our program and trying to recruit as many VSOs as possible to process those claims and we will do that.

Suicide prevention and mental health. We obviously know more must be done. We know that one veteran, one military member taking their life is too much. But everything I’ve heard over all these many panels, all these many hearings, didn’t address what happens in the military before you get to the veterans side. I think, from day one that you join the military, you should be addressing, in the military, mental health. When you go through basic training, that is extremely important to address it. I think maybe even before that, and we work with an organization called Our Community Salutes, who actually works with the families of the veterans, of the military members rather that are going into the military directly out of high school…

Supporting women veterans. The fastest growing group of veterans, as you know, is women. It’s haphazard. I visited many veterans locations, many veterans affairs medical centers, and some are great. The one that I go to in Philadelphia is fantastic at addressing women’s needs. That might be because the director is a woman. I don’t know. I’ve gone to others and that’s not the case. It needs to be looked at not as a total VA package, but individual centers.

Expanding service to veterans and caregivers. Again, we know this is important. One area we want to stress is, JWV urges Congress to remove the regulatory requirement for the 70 percent disability rating to be eligible for this program. That’s ridiculous. And that’s my words. Take it out. It wasn’t there before. Take it out.

Major Richard Star Act. Committee Chairman Tester, thank you for heading up that effort. And there are others. In New Jersey where I come from, we have gone to all our Senators, all our Congresspeople, and they have signed on. We have encouraged all the JWV members to go to the 50 states and territories and get their Senators and Congresspeople to also sign on. It impacts over 50,000 combat injured veterans.

Ending veterans’ homelessness. We’ve made progress. Between 2020 and 2022, 11 percent of the veterans that were on the street are no longer homeless. The best we’ve done in five years. The problem is that’s not good enough. JWV has submitted to many of you members just last week steps that we should take that you haven’t really discussed before. I don’t have time in my short period of time here to go over them, but I encourage you to look at that, I’d be happy during the questions and answers to answer some questions.

Fixing the electronic system, and I’ll be very quick with this, I know we have one other item after this. I worked for the IRS for 11 years during the period of time they put their new tax base database in place. We did a better job than VA’s doing. What’s going on here? Less money. Yes, we made some mistakes at first, but we now have tax returns coming in from more than 65 million taxpayers. What’s VA talking about? A maximum of 12 million with the new PACT Act. Please do oversight on this. I don’t know what the problem is, we don’t need any more research, we need implementation. And go back to DoD like was said by VFW. You need to start the process with DoD and not just be isolated. And I know there’s committees that talk to each other between VA and DoD, but they’re not doing what we need.

Conclusion. We started out in the military. Most of us volunteered. We served out country. Now we’re veterans and we’re still volunteering. Everybody on this table is a volunteer. Many of you are volunteers and veterans service organizations. We continue to serve. Call on us. We can help you. And we love this nation. G-d bless the United States of America. Thank you.

House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost (R-IL) recognized Mellitz for a question on veteran suicide, and Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) said he agreed with Mellitz when he called for mental health treatment to begin at the start of basic training.

You can watch Mellitz’s testimony on our website or find the entire hearing on the YouTube channel of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

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The Super Bowl Ticket Surprise

By Stewart Mednick, Department of Minnesota Vice Commander

USAA worked with the Jewish War Veterans to award Marine and Army veteran Bruce Legan with a free trip to the Super Bowl.

Can a veteran ask for a better surprise than to have Super Bowl tickets given by the Minnesota Vikings record-breaking wide receiver Justin Jefferson?
“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me!” said Legan.

Legan enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1975. He was stationed in Camp Lejeune until the Vietnam War ended. Legan was honorably discharged as a Lance Corporal. In 1987, Legan reenlisted in the U.S. Army working as a track vehicle repairman and vehicle dispatcher based in Kansas. He eventually became a heavy equipment operator in Louisiana. Legan continued his service until 1995 when he was honorably discharged at the rank of Specialist.

Now a resident of St. Paul, 70-year-old Bruce Legan is an active member of the Jewish War Veterans, is involved in the Fort Snelling Memorial Rifle Squad, and works at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis.

“It’s a special honor to team up with USAA and the Jewish War Veterans to honor Bruce, who continues to serve his fellow veterans,” said Jefferson.

“All expenses paid. Leave your wallet at home!” exclaimed Jefferson when he presented the two oversized foam-board tickets. Legan and his brother, who he was allowed to take along as his guest, were given plane tickets, hotel rooms, meals, and access to all the Super Bowl events.

So how did this dream come true for Legan?

I received a call from JWV National Executive Director Ken Greenberg. In strict confidence, he explained that he would like me to be the point of contact for the USAA, JWV, and the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in St. Paul where the staged ruse took place. Yes, a ruse to have Legan show up under the guise of an interview by USAA to talk about his military experience.

The Friday of the video shoot came upon us quickly, and early in the morning we were all setting up. I had been in contact with Legan to firm up the schedule of events. The trick was to have Legan show up before Jefferson did, so they wouldn’t see each other before the reveal.

During the middle of Bruce’s interview, Jefferson walked in from behind where Legan was sitting with the two oversized Super Bowl Tickets in hand. I had a chill run down my spine as Jefferson presented the tickets to Legan’s elation and surprise.

I cannot say enough about the USAA organization and how much they have provided for all veterans. This was an enjoyable experience and I hope JWV collaborates with USAA again soon.

As a proud Life Member of JWV, this epitomizes the efforts and passion of how JWV and all Veterans Service Organizations can change a person’s life with a simple act of kindness.

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Irving Locker

Irving Locker recently turned 98. On June 6, 1944 Locker was one of the 156,000 soldiers to storm the beaches of Normandy, landing at Utah Beach. Six months later, Locker was a 19-year-old Staff Sergeant with the 116th AAA Gun Battalion of the 1st Army’s 7th Corps.

He found himself in the Ardennes Forest during the brutally cold winter of 1944-1945.

Locker said, “When we went into the Battle of the Bulge, they had us surrounded on three sides. We didn’t have ammunition, food, or anything. I had to send my own sergeant into our own mortuaries where our own dead people were and take the boots and clothing off of them to bring back.”

Locker played a part in the liberation of the Gardelegen Concentration Camp, about 100 miles west of Berlin, an experience he will never forget.

Once Locker reached Berlin, he took a swastika flag from a wall and had some of his men sign it. It is one of many mementos he still has from the war.

After the war Locker, made a life with his sweetheart Bernice. They have been married for 74 years. Unfortunately, they have outlived both of their sons. His wife Bernice said, “We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve always been there for each other. When we lost our sons, I don’t think either of us would have survived if we didn’t have each other to lean on.” She said her husband does not let tragedy define him.

Locker has made a life of retelling his story. He has made YouTube videos and continues to give Power Point presentations to anyone who will listen. For 77 years he has given lectures on the war and the Holocaust everywhere from elementary school classrooms to the White House. He returned to Normandy for the 70th and 75th D-Day anniversaries.

Locker said “Too many people have no idea what we experienced. It’s important to me that this story is told after I’m gone, so people don’t forget.”

Locker is 5’2” and during one of his talks, someone asked how he survived the war. Locker answered, “I stood behind a tall guy.”

Locker is a long-time member of JWV Post 352 in The Villages, Florida.

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Howard Berger

Howard Berger turned 99 in November. His father was a machine gunner in World War I. Berger was working as a salesman when WWII began, but when he noticed many factories starting to make war materials, he decided to enlist. He and his brother joined up at the same time, Berger into the Army and his brother into the Coast Guard.

Berger trained on anti-aircraft artillery at Camp Stewart, Georgia. In December 1944, he set sail on the Queen Elizabeth, heading for Scotland. By this time, he was a Staff Sergeant leading a platoon of 21 men and four halftracks.

When a V-2 rocket landed nearby, Berger said it “scared the hell” out of them. He remained in England, guarding an Italian POW camp until March of 1945, when his unit left for France.
On May 5, two days before Germany surrendered, Berger was badly burned in an accident. He was sent to Paris where he recovered from his injury. Eventually he received a job offer to join the occupation force in Vienna, Austria as an Assistant to the Class VI Officer. He later joined the entertainment branch of Army Special Services. While there, he met Dorothy, who became his beloved wife of 68 years.

Berger retired from his service-related career in 1994 and settled in Naples, Florida, where he joined JWV Post 202. He currently resides in Denver, Colorado.

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Murray Zolkower

Murray Zolkower, Co-Commander of Post 409 in Dunedin, Florida, turned 102-years-old last month. He was honored at his favorite restaurant, Mission BBQ.

Zolkower is a World War II veteran who had his schooling interrupted by the events of WWII. He landed on Omaha Beach six weeks after D-Day. He served as a medic with the 120th Medical Battalion, 45th Division starting in France, and the unit fought its way through Nuremburg and Munich. On April 29, 1945, Zolkower found himself part of the liberation force at Dachau, an experience he knew he would never be able to erase from his memory. After the war, in 1946, he came home and married his high school sweetheart, a marriage that lasted until her passing in 2014. Zolkower finished his education, becoming a pharmacist in 1948, a career he has loved ever since. He joined JWV in 1946 and remains one of our longest serving members.

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The Missing Half of the Middle Matzah

By Rabbi Doniel Z. Kramer, Ph.D., BCC, CH (LTC-ret), USAR.

Shalom.

This Issue of “The Jewish Veteran” should be arriving in our homes around Pesach (Passover) time.

For Jewish chaplains on active duty or in VA settings, Pesach presents us with an excellent opportunity to reconnect lost, disillusioned, or uneducated Jews with their heritage.

The Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) Jewish Chaplains’ Council plans to post a schedule indicating where Passover programs will take place on every military post where there is a Jewish chaplain or lay leader.

There is an intriguing custom performed during the Passover Seder ritual. It is called Yachatz, which means divide. The leader of the Seder takes the middle of the three matzot (plural of matzah) on the ritual table and breaks it in half, wrapping and hiding the larger piece, called the afikomen, which will be shared with everyone at the table at the conclusion of the festive Seder meal, and puts the smaller piece back between the two other matzot.

Many of our readers might recall the times in the 1980s and 1990s when so many Jewish federations and the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) encouraged Jewish families to recite “The Matzah of Hope” prayer at the Seder during Yachatz. This meditation remembered the Jews in the Communist Soviet Union, imprisoned behind the Iron Curtain, who were not allowed to practice their faith and were divided from and cut-off from the rest of the Jewish world. We prayed that just as the missing part of the middle matzah will be returned to the Seder table at the conclusion of the Passover meal, so too may all those Jews cut off from the Jewish world be restored to the Jewish people, and we could be one reunited Jewish family.

Indeed, one of the most remarkable Pesach Sedarim (plural of seder) that I attended was when my congregation and community welcomed and helped settle our first Jewish emigre family from the Soviet Union. This family was enjoying their first Pesach in freedom and joined us in reciting “The Matzah of Hope” prayer for Jews still imprisoned in Russia. That same prayer, which was recited by us the previous year, and collectively included them, was now being chanted by them for the first time, on behalf of their friends and relatives still in Russia!

That same message is as timely today for so many of our fellow American Jews who have dropped out, or were never formally and educationally initiated into our faith community. Some of these assimilated Jews may have some warm memory of a Passover Seder long ago perhaps at a grandparent’s home. If these individuals are in the military or work on military bases, a friendly, welcoming Seder conducted by a chaplain or lay leader could be the invitation to affiliate.

So too, with a Seder that a VA chaplain might conduct, often with the support of a local JWV post or district. Indeed, I am personally so appreciative of the members of the JWV Rockland/Orange County New York District, under the leadership of Commander Bernhard Storch, of blessed memory, who were always supportive of all of the Jewish and patriotic activities that I and others planned in the VA Hudson Valley HCS, both financially as well as physically. Their members volunteered to not only help set-up and serve, but also befriended our hospitalized veterans. And I know that this devoted service by JWV and JWVA takes place around the country! Yasher koach—all the power—to you!!!

There is another aspect to Yachatz. The first half of the Seder consists of reciting the Haggadah, retelling the story of the enslavement of the Jewish people in Egypt. Slaves were not fed full meals and were lucky to have broken pieces of bread to eat, and so only a piece of the matzah on the Seder table reminds us of the time when our ancestors were slaves in Egypt.

In this regard, the broken matzah offers an additional lesson. One of the most venerable traditions of Pesach is the Maot Chittim (literally meaning money for wheat) charity drive, when funds are collected to ensure that all Jews, especially those who are poor and destitute, have the funds to purchase matzah (hence the wheat reference) and all the other Seder necessities, to be able to conduct a meaningful, filling, and fulfilling Seder experience in a regal and respectful manner.  Jewish veterans who served and even fought while willing to make the ultimate sacrifice so that evil oppressors and despots, like the Pharaoh of ancient Egypt, could be defeated, surely should be volunteers to fight in this war against poverty epitomized by the Maot Chittim campaign.

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin concludes his discussion of Yachatz in his Passover Haggadah this way, “The saintly Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (1772-1811) once asked, ‘Who is a whole man? He who has a broken heart.’ As long as Israel is not yet fully redeemed, the second matzah must be broken.  It remains as a reminder and symbol within the very festival of redemption that we are not yet redeemed.”

May God bless you and your family with a very meaningful, delightful, and redemptive Pesach. Hag kasher vesamayach!

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WV Commemorates 50 Years Since U.S. Ended Involvement in Vietnam

By Bob Jacobs and Jerry Alperstein

On January 18, 2023, approximately 40 members of JWV and the Ladies Auxiliary gathered at the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

JWV’s Vietnam Veterans Committee sponsored the event. Committee Chairman Bob Jacobs welcomed everyone who attended the event and issued a special welcome home for the Vietnam veterans in attendance. Jerry Alperstein played the national anthem on his bugle.

Jacobs reflected on the problems faced by veterans when they returned from service in Vietnam. He noted that the public did not separate their distaste for the war from those who were forced to fight in it.

National Commander Nelson Mellitz spoke about how Jews have stepped up to serve in every conflict in this country since the Revolutionary War. He also talked about his memories of anti-Vietnam veteran protests. He said Vietnam veterans pledged to “leave no one behind” and to make sure that later veterans would not be similarly mistreated. He pledged that he and future JWV National Commanders will continue to protect all veterans.

General Edward Chrystal, the head of Taskforce 23, which is overseeing the official Vietnam War 50th anniversary commemoration on the National Mall this May spoke to the assembled group as well.

The General thanked the work done by Vietnam vets, which helped ensure that later veterans would not be mistreated following their return. He also spoke about the role JWV plays in helping all veterans.

Jacobs, Mellitz, Chrystal, and Alperstein ended the remembrance ceremony by placing a wreath at the site.

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Camp LeJeune Contaminated Drinking Water

By Steve Fixler, Veteran Service Officer

I know this has been brought up before, but I am still getting questions about it, and I thought it would be good to reiterate.

There are a lot of commercials on TV and radio from attorneys asking to represent veterans and civilians who were at Camp LeJeune between 1953 and 1987.  The lawsuit is based on drinking contaminated water at the site during that time.

One commercial says filing a lawsuit will not affect any VA benefits that the veteran is receiving.  That is not true.  Yes, the veteran will not lose any VA benefits, but any money the veteran receives from the lawsuit will be offset by any VA benefits received based on drinking the water.

Filing a VA claim for drinking the contaminated water is different from filing a lawsuit.

If a veteran is already receiving VA Service-Connected Disability Compensation for drinking the contaminated water at Camp LeJeune and that veteran files and wins a lawsuit, the award will be offset by any money or payments made in connection with health care or disability compensation payments related to the contaminated water for any VA, Medicare, or Medicaid program.  You cannot be paid twice from the government for the same issue.

For example, if a veteran is receiving VA disability payments and wins a lawsuit:

Lawsuit Settlement: $200,000
An Offset: $100,000
Legal Fee (40%):  $80,000
Net to Veteran:  $20,000

In other words, if a veteran received money from the VA for drinking the water, they will subtract the amount of money the veteran received from the VA from the amount of money that the veteran gets from the lawsuit.

If you want to file a lawsuit against the government, make sure that it’s financially the right thing for you to do.  Do not just let the attorney tell you that you should do it and join all the other veterans that are doing it.  (There may not be a lot of veterans doing it.)  Check out all your options on whether you should file the lawsuit and how it will impact your VA disability payments and hospital care.

As of this date, I do not know any veteran who has filed a lawsuit.  I know they have filed VA claims.  I am not saying it is wrong to file a lawsuit, but I just do not know of any veteran who has filed a lawsuit.

Another thing is that this is not just for Marines.  If an Army, Navy, or Air Force veteran, or National Guard or Reservist was at Camp LeJeune, they also could be eligible for compensation.

Civilians and spouses of veterans filing a claim would not be affected by any VA benefits, but I do not know how that works if they are receiving any federal aid like Medicare.  They need to check how that affects anything they’re receiving from the federal government.

Veterans also must watch out for scammers – not only to file a VA claim for drinking the water, but for any type of VA benefit.  Last week, I had a wife of a veteran call me and say that she is working with an organization that will help her file for VA Aid and Attendance.  The organization said that it will cost her $1,000.00.  I told her no one ever has to pay to file a VA claim.  She gave me his name and I have heard of him, but I always contact the Illinois Attorney General’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs and report him.  Like I said, no one ever has to pay to file a VA claim.  Not only that, but they cannot guarantee that you will be approved for the claim and many times, they send you to a Veteran Service Officer who will actually send the paperwork to the VA.

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Cadet Training & Promotion Ceremony

Members of North Shore Post 29 in Illinois attended the promotion of one of its members, Chaplain Dovid Grossman of the Civil Air Patrol Air Force Auxiliary, to the rank of Major. Before the promotion ceremony, Grossman led a character development class for Civil Air Patrol Cadets. With a wealth of wisdom in the room, veterans and CAP senior members paired off with cadets to discuss each question in the curriculum. Grossman said it was exhilarating to witness the multigenerational interactions and to hear insights they shared with each other.

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Family Service and Sacrifice

By Marc Schenck

In the course of researching our family tree with my father, Lt. j.g. Bernard Schenck, a Navy veteran who served during the Cold War between 1956-1960 on the USS Virgo (KA-20) and the USS Glacier (AGB-4), I first learned about the scope of one of our family member’s military service in two wars. Forgotten by most, his sacrifice is worthy of acknowledgment and our memory.
My father’s uncle, Mack Schenck, was an immigrant from Belarus along with his four siblings, probably in the first decade of the century. In 1928, along with three other men, they founded Temple Beth-El Congregation in Great Neck, New York. At the time, Great Neck had a population of 12,000 people and only 115 Jewish families. It was the first synagogue in the town.

The Busy Baby, circa 1944, United Kingdom

Mack had a son named Robert Schenck, my father’s cousin, born on May 30, 1921. He was a bomber pilot who flew a B-17 Flying Fortress in World War II and received the Distinguished Flying Cross. As part of the 379th Bomb Group, 527th Bomb Squadron, based at Kimbolton, UK, they flew more sorties than any other Bomb Group in the Eighth Air Force and dropped a greater bomb tonnage than any other Group.

The B-17 Flying Fortress Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first for operations between May 28, 1943 and July 31, 1944. Its first combat mission was the bombing of German U-boat pens at St Nazaire, France, on May 29, 1943. The second was awarded to the 1st Bomb Division as a whole for flying without fighter protection to bomb aircraft factories at Oschersleben, Germany, on January 11, 1944.

Flying with the 527th during the Spring and Summer of 1944 Capt. Robert Schenck participated in missions throughout Western Europe and as far east as Poland. Several missions over Germany flew into the highly defended airspace above Berlin. It was a hazardous profession for the aircrews and more American airmen died over Europe than Marines died in the Pacific. He flew 35 missions, mostly on the Busy Baby, above the minimum of 25, and later 30, necessary for having the option to return home. By November 1944, the Busy Baby, after 87 missions, was classified as war weary. It was relegated to scrap in Kingman, Arizona in December of 1945.

Schenck’s headstone in Beth-Alom Cemetery in New Britain, CT.

After the war, his path was less clear, but a family member recalls hearing that he had gone into business importing goods from the Dominican Republic. He remained a reservist and was called back for the Korean War, this time as the senior pilot of a C-119C Flying Boxcar from the 63rd Troop Carrier Squadron, 403rd Troop Carrier Group.

Until the end of 1952, it dropped paratroopers and supplies, transported personnel and equipment, and evacuated casualties in support of the Far East Command and UN forces. The group flew more than 6,300 flights, dropped nearly 10,000 personnel, more than 18,000 tons of cargo, 380 tons of supplies, and airlifted almost 14,000 medical patients.

On November 14, 1952, his aircraft was enroute from Ashiya Air Base, Japan to Seoul, Korea when it crashed into Hill 683 near Cho-ok, about 15 miles east of Airfield K-19, killing all 44 servicemen on board. Robert Schenck was just 31-years-old and was awarded the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.

His remains were recovered, and he is interred at Beth-Alom Cemetery in New Britain, Connecticut. He was survived by his parents and siblings. Upon learning of our family history, we will never forget the sacrifice he paid in service of our nation. Remembering is the least we can do.

If any readers have any comments or additional information regarding Capt. Robert Schenck or related events I would welcome them. I can be reached at mschenc1@optonline.net.

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