Post 692 Remembers

By LTC (ret) Sheldon Goldberg, Post 692

On 27 May, Post 692 held its third annual Memorial Day program at the American-Jewish Veterans Memorial on the grounds of the Bender Jewish Community Center in Rockville,Maryland. Approximately 50 friends and members of the local Jewish Community attended the program. Among the honored guests were Mr. Robert Finn, Maryland’s Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs who presented acting Post Commander Walter Gold with a Proclamation from the Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan. Also present was Mr. Randy Stone, Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Commission on Veterans, Colonel Erwin Burtnick, Commander, Department of Maryland, JWV, and Chief Scott Goldstein, Chief of the Montgomery County Volunteer Fire Department representing County Executive Isiah Leggett.

Rabbi Moishe Kavka gave the invocation and Rabbi Paul Levenson, a WW II Army chaplain, sang El Moleh at the conclusion. Lt Col. Sheldon Goldberg, (USAF, Ret) Docent/Historian at the National Museum of American Jewish Military History was the keynote speaker. Vocalist Kassie Sandacz, president of Voices of Vets opened the program with the National Anthem and ended it with God Bless America.

Following the outdoor program, the video True Honor, the story of Jewish Medal of Honor recipients was screened for those in attendance. The screening was preceded by a short history of the Medal of Honor and afterward, Col. Goldberg provided a brief description of the actions of several of the early Jewish Medal of Honor recipients that did not appear in the video.

Volume 72. Number 2. Summer 2018