50th Anniversary of the Yom Kippur War

By Itzhak Brook

The 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War occurred this year. The war was launched in 1973 in a surprise attack by Syria and Egypt on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Even though the signs of an imminent attack were noted by the Israeli intelligence, the Israeli government decided to ignore them for political and strategic reasons. Consequently, the country’s borders were very sparsely defended, creating a dangerous void on the front. The invading armies outnumbered the Israelis at a ratio of more than a hundred to one in manpower and ten to one in armor and artillery.

Because the bulk of the Israel army is comprised of reservists, it took two days to mobilize and deploy the forces. During these critical days it was up to the vastly outnumbered soldiers on the front and Israeli pilots in the sky to hold the line and stall the attackers. It was the heroism and determination of these men and women that saved the country. Their devotion and sacrifice compensated for the woeful lack of sufficient equipment and supplies. The strategic depth of the Sinai desert and Golan Heights also provided the country with the time needed to mobilize the reservists.

This war posed the most serious threat to the existence of Israel in modern history. Even though Israel was eventually able to achieve a military victory, the country paid a steep price, both in lives lost and in the citizenry’s confidence in their leaders and themselves. Almost three thousand soldiers gave their lives — a ratio of one death per one thousand Israelis, a painful price for a nation of three million. Over ten thousand individuals were wounded in the 17 days of fighting. Almost every household and neighborhood were affected. The pain and sorrow felt at the time continues to this day among affected families and the broader Israeli society. Deep within the psyche of the nation, this conflict shattered the conventional wisdom of Israel’s invincibility. It also illustrated the importance of having secure and defensible borders, while highlighting the urgent need for a lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors. An important outcome of the Yom Kippur War was the creation of the 1979 peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, ending more than thirty years of conflict between the two nations.

Assistance from the United States was instrumental in Israel’s victory. Ammunition, spare parts, armor, and fighter jets reached the country at a critical moment, replenishing heavy losses and enabling Israel not only to repel the attackers but to go on the offensive, ending the war 65 miles from Cairo and 25 miles from Damascus. Moreover, the political and military commitments from the United States countered the Soviet Union which had threatened to intervene in the crisis on behalf of their Arab allies.

I was a battalion physician during the Yom Kippur War. Like thousands of Israelis, I joined my battalion which had been assigned to supply the armored corps with ammunition, fuel, water, and food. These soldiers risked their lives, replenishing tanks with fuel and ammunition under enemy fire. I watched them overcome countless difficulties and perform their mission, despite constant danger, many of them paying the ultimate price. It was a daily struggle for survival, requiring resourcefulness and performance despite the constant presence of fear and anxiety. This war articulated my personal definition of courage: the performance of one’s duty despite one’s fear.

For Jews who lived through the Yom Kippur War, the holiest of the High Holy days will never be the same. For us, it stands not only as a day of atonement but as day of gratitude to God for the miracle of survival. It is also a time for remembering those who paid the ultimate price for preserving and protecting Israel and will always commemorate a renewed commitment to preventing Israel from ever experiencing such a peril in the future.

Dr Itzhak Brook is a Professor at Georgetown University and the author of the book: “In the Sands of Sinai- A Physician’s Account of the Yom Kippur War.” The book can be read free and/or obtained at: yomkippurwarphysiciansaccount.blogspot.com/

Volume 77. Number 4. 2023

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Raymond Elias

By Larry Jasper, National Editor

Meet Raymond Elias, currently the Milwaukee, WI Post 701 Commander. When asked why he joined JWV, he says his son-in-law, Kim Queen (WI Department Commander and JWV Membership Chair), made a deal with him. Kim agreed to take his daughter off his hands if he would join JWV. Queen also got him to join the American Legion and the VA Medical Program. All parties seem happy with the result.

His military career began when he was drafted in 1956 at the age of 24 and served for two years as a clerk typist with the 1st Training Brigade Regimental Headquarters at Fort Knox, KY. His most memorable time was during the High Holidays when he and a friend were invited to attend a dinner in the home of a Jewish family in Louisville.

Following his active service, he returned to PA and served in the reserve for two additional years.

As seemingly unremarkable as his service was, that was not the case for his three older brothers.

His oldest brother Elvin served in WWII in the Philippines where he earned a Purple Heart.

His second older brother Herbert also served in WWII as an Army Air Corps Pilot in the Mediterranean. He flew B25s and B24s and was part of the raid on Ploiesti, Romania in 1942 which raid knocked out about 50% of Romania’s oil production that the Germans relied on. He was later shot down over Italy but managed to crash land in friendly territory with all crew surviving.

His third older brother Sherman served in Korea as a Crew Chief on C47s. His plane was also shot down and he rescued fellow crew and pilots for which he earned a Silver Star.

Brother Sherman was also a JWV member, in Pittsburg, PA, until his passing in 2021. He served the veteran community for many years and at his funeral, the Commanding General for the Pennsylvania National Guard presided over the Honor Guard and also delivered a eulogy.

Following Elias’s service he briefly worked as a draftsman for General Telephone Equipment and then joined Met Life where he progressed from being a clerk to salesman to manager. He worked for Met Life for 35 years.

Elias likes to travel. His travels took him to Greece (where his wife had family), Paris, England, and Mexico. He found the people friendly and enjoyed learning about the various places he went.
During his service and civilian work, he was fortunate to never experience any acts of antisemitism.

Elias now enjoys the post poppy programs, helping place flags on Memorial Day, and volunteering at the food pantry in Ozaukee County, WI. He previously helped for 16 years at the Jewish Food Pantry in Burbank, CA.

He previously wintered in CA and spent summers in WI. He says “I hate winter”.

Elias will turn 90 on February 12th!

Volume 77. Number 4. 2023

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JWV Member and Holocaust Survivor Shared Story

By Allan Cantor, Post 256

Ralph Hockley, born Rudolph Martin Hockenheimer, was a Holocaust survivor and Post 256 Jewish War Veteran member. Hockley was born on October 17, 1925 into a Jewish household in Karlsruhe, Germany. When Hockley was only eight years old, Hitler rose to power in Germany. In 1935, Hockley’s family escaped to Marseilles, France where Hockley learned French and excelled in school. Shortly after France was invaded, Hockley’s father was arrested for being an “enemy alien” and held in various concentration camps.

At only 14 years old, Hockley was expelled from school. Hockley became an interpreter for the American Friends Service Committee office (AFSC). Hockley used his connections in this position to secure his family, including his father, United States visas.

Ralph went to the draft board on his 18th birthday and began active duty on December 29, 1943. Hockley was a “Ritchie Boy” and was in Paris to celebrate the official end of World War II in Europe. Shortly after this, Hockley completed his service, but remained in the Army Reserve.

Hockley attended Syracuse University earning in BA in Soviet Studies in 1949. Following his degree, he returned to the U.S. Army before the start of the Korean War. Hockley served in seven campaigns in Korea where he earned a Bronze Star with a “V” device for Valor for service.

Hockley relocated to Dallas, TX where he became a member of Post 256. He published a book called Freedom is Not Free. This book detailed his experiences in Nazi Germany, and his service throughout the Korean War and the Cold War. In 2021, Hockley was awarded the Légion d’Honneur, France’s top civilian honor, in recognition of his heroism and service with their units in Korea.

Starting in 2022, Hockley began working closely with the Dallas Holocaust and Human Right Museum sharing his story with adult and student groups.

On November 8, 2023, Hockley passed away at 98 years old. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn, and his children, Cliff and Denise, stepchildren Kris, Heidi, and Kirk, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his first wife, Eva Frankel.

Volume 77. Number 4. 2023

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First Experience Away from Jewish Community

By Rabbi Heather Borshof

I grew up in central New Jersey, a county that had one of the largest Jewish populations in NJ. Public schools were closed for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover. Even though I was exposed to other faith groups, I never thought twice about having to fight for or explain why I needed off for a Jewish holiday because it was never necessary.

When I first came into the military as a rabbi and Jewish chaplain, I discovered very quickly that Jews, as we are in the world, are a minority. In fact, I learned a new phrase: I am a “low-density faith” chaplain and Jews are a low-density faith religion in the military. This was a completely different experience for me than where I grew up and went to college.

For the first time, I met people who had never met a Jewish person. Many people do not recognize the tablets insignia that Jewish chaplains wear. Throughout my time in the military, and in particular during my time in Afghanistan, on a daily basis, individuals would inquire and ask what that “symbol” above my name was. I discovered that this was and is a wonderful opportunity to share who I am as a Jewish chaplain, and to communicate about who we are as a Jewish people. When we show our Judaism, whether that be the way we dress (wearing a Jewish star, or a kippah, or for me the Jewish tablets with the 10 commandments and the Star of David), we represent not just ourselves, but all of Judaism. So many people do not realize that Jews serve in the military and have always served in the military.

During my thirteen years on active duty in the Army as a Jewish chaplain, I have been fortunate to encounter very little antisemitism or opposition to practicing my faith freely. Once or twice, I have had leadership who did not respect or understand my requirement to serve the military Jewish community in addition to my regular officer responsibilities. However, most people are receptive and often even excited to meet a Jewish chaplain.

But I do know that for those Jewish military personnel who are not chaplains, the experience of finding others to be receptive and understand their needs is not always so easy. Many Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen experience resistance when making a request to practice their Judaism. Whether that be for kosher meals or asking to be excused in order to attend worship services for a Jewish holiday, they are often met with opposition and are denied the chance to participate and practice their Judaism.

In the present day, we are facing more antisemitism than we have in recent years. That is not to say that it was not always there, but it is more public today and tolerated in a way that must be considered unacceptable to Americans. However, in the military I find that when Jewish people are refused the opportunity to practice their faith, it is more out of ignorance and a lack of understanding than it is out of antisemitism.

After the attacks on 7 October in Israel, Jewish students at many colleges and universities are experiencing antisemitism as they never have before. It is scary, upsetting, and problematic on many levels. I am currently stationed at West Point in NY, and I am pleased to see that the Jewish students here have not experienced that kind of antisemitism. In fact, many of the faculty have reached out and asked how they can be supportive of the Jewish community. It is a breath of fresh air, but I know that this is an anomaly and is not happening in many places around the country, so it is important that we speak up and speak out when we face antisemitism.

We have a strong Jewish community here at West Point, and our Cadets will be among the Jews who serve in the US military in future years. We hold several Jewish events and Shabbat services with Shabbat dinner on a regular basis here at West Point. The Jewish Cadets often bring their non-Jewish friends and they have a wonderful time. It is a terrific opportunity to expose those from other faith backgrounds to Judaism. This will give them a better understanding of the Jewish community when it is their time to be leaders in the Army and a fellow Jewish Soldier asks them for their help living their Jewish identity.

It can be challenging to be a “low-density faith.” Many have experienced first-hand the challenges that come with it, and it is important that we continue to educate others. As a low-density faith chaplain, I feel blessed to be able both to serve the military Jewish community and have an opportunity to work with all of those from other faiths as well. Everyone has so much to learn from one another, and together we can continue to teach each other, support each other, and make the military a stronger and more cohesive community.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Heather Borshof

Rabbi/Chaplain Heather Borshof was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Central NJ. She holds a BA in Judaic Studies and Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, an MA in Jewish Education from Baltimore Hebrew University, and was ordained as a rabbi from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2010. Upon Ordination, Rabbi Borshof commissioned onto active duty in the United States Army and served as a Jewish Chaplain. She completed the Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course from Fort Jackson, SC in April 2011 and was assigned to Fort Belvoir, VA immediately following. In July 2013, she was assigned to Fort Bragg, NC with the 82nd Sustainment Brigade and deployed to Afghanistan in 2013-2014. From there, she was assigned to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.From 2017-2020, she served as the chaplain for the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Belvoir, VA, working with Wounded Warriors, while also serving the Jewish community. Rabbi Borshof arrived to West Point NY in July 2023, and currently serves as the Jewish Chaplain providing support to all Cadets and the Garrison. She currently serves as a Major in the Army.

Volume 77. Number 4. 2023

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The Psycho Boys – by Beverly Driver Eddy

By Sheldon Goldberg

On the edge of the Gettysburg Battlefield was a former camp known as CCC Gettysburg 2. Initially housing an all-black Civilian Conservation Corps unit, the camp was abandoned in1942 but converted to a small Army sub-camp of Camp Ritchie in 1943. Its purpose was somewhat given away by its name – Camp George H. Sharpe – named after General George G. Meade’s intelligence officer during the Battle of Gettysburg.

The initial cadre of about 60 men were those who had completed intelligence training at Camp Ritchie but were now receiving commando/ranger training before being deployed behind enemy lines in Europe. Following this group were approximately 800 soldiers, described as not being in the best physical shape, differing in age, and from a multitude of civilian occupations and professions. Many, but not all, were Jewish. Some were native-born Americans, others were immigrants and refugees from Europe who had managed to escape the Nazis. Some had received training at Camp Ritchie, many not. That said, several common threads bound them together: their language skills, their knowledge of Europe, and their desire to defeat the Axis.

At Camp Sharpe they would be divided into four Mobile Radio Broadcasting (MRB) companies and taught skills needed to interrogate prisoners and civilians, make radio broadcasts, loudspeaker appeals, leaflet and newspaper production, and operate both in front of and behind enemy lines. Trained in psychological warfare, these secret units would become known as “The Psycho Boys.”

The book itself, an updated and somewhat revised version of the author’s 2015 book, The Camp Sharpe Psycho Boys, is the result of a number of interviews with living members of these MRBs and in-depth research by the author. It tells us the previously unknown story of their participation in the war in Europe chronologically from their Camp Sharpe training to D-Day in Normandy to the surrender of Germany and beyond. It concludes in describing, often in the participants own words, the role they played, in and out of uniform, in the democratization of the erstwhile Nazified German population. In doing this, the author introduces us to a number of the Psycho Boys who were at one time academics, diamond cutters, meteorologists, writers, authors, and musicians. One was even a Disney artist while another was a prominent gossip columnist and yet another a Harvard University Literature professor.

All of them became students of Lieutenant Hans Habe, a Hungarian-born newspaperman who fought with the French Foreign Legion, was captured by the Germans and escaped before coming to America. Here, his exploits became a novel that became a Hollywood film. Beyond that, his proven skill at interrogating prisoners of war and writing effective propaganda pamphlets led him to become the trainer for all four MRB companies.

In each of the book’s nine chapters, which follows the progress of the U.S. forces from Normandy to the German homeland, the author provides a narrative, often in the soldiers’ own words of actions taken to conduct their mission which was, armed only with truth, to convince enemy soldiers to surrender, often at the cost of the MRB soldier’s life. These narratives, combined with photos of MRB soldiers, make for an interesting and easy reading experience.

For this reviewer, however, the last three chapters, “Confronting the Camps,” “Going “Home,” and “Working for a Democratic Germany,” are the most interesting. The author makes clear that as horrific as it was to enter the concentration camps without knowing beforehand of their existence, it was worse for the foreign-born MRB men, many of whom had family and friends among the survivors. The descriptions of what the MRB men found in the camp, and of the atrocities that took place, often only hours before the Americans arrived, remain even today difficult to read and comprehend. Several of the German-born MRB men who personally experienced Nazi brutality before escaping Germany, describe tours they gave to German locals who claimed innocence and not knowing despite their proximity to the camps. One MRB soldier said that they seemed “not to have had the slightest qualms about living in the smoke of the Nazi crematoria.”

Again, through the words of the author’s interviewees, we experience what it was like for some of the foreign-born MRB men to return to the cities in which they had lived, e.g., Leipzig, Augsburg, Nuremburg, and Berlin, were but a few. Lastly, she describes how many MRB men remained in Germany after the war to focus their efforts on denazification and re-education. The several different newspapers they produced in the German style became the biggest newspaper concern in the world with a circulation of over 8 million. Similarly, some reactivated radio stations while others culled the professional and cultural arenas, deciding who could continue in their professions and who were banned as a result of the Nazi affiliation.

Toward the end of the book, the author objectively makes clear that the efforts of many of these former MRB men were making to bring democracy to Germany ran counter to U.S. government policy. Initially, criticism of the Soviet Union was not allowed, but with the beginning of the Cold War, this began to change and despite the Nuremburg trials, the de-Nazification programs slowly ended.

The book concludes with brief descriptions of what a number of the MRB men did after leaving the Army or government service. She closes the book by writing “As paragraph troopers, who chose words over rifles or other weapons of choice, the psycho boys had fought to preserve ideals rather than extinguish lives.”

As one who served two tours in Post-war Germany, I saw the fruits of their labors.

Volume 77. Number 4. 2023

 

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