The American Jewish community and the civil rights movement

A Rich History

Over the past three centuries, American Jews have committed themselves to numerous political and social causes both at home and abroad. In the second half of the 20th century, American Jews were particularly active in the movements associated with civil rights at home, and Soviet Jewry abroad.

There was a time when blacks and Jews formed a close partnership to bring about racial equality.  Jewish involvement was key to the founding of both the NAACP and the Urban League. Both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were drafted in the conference room of the Religious Action Center (RAC) A Jewish sponsored forum in Washington, D.C. Henry Moscowitz joined W.E.B. Dubois and other civil rights leaders to form the NAACP.  Kivie Kaplan, a vice-chairman of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, served as the national president of the NAACP from 1966 to 1975.  The relationship continues today with Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the RAC, who is currently the only non-African-American member of the NAACP board.

From 1910 to 1940, more than 2,000 primary and secondary schools and twenty black colleges (including Howard, Dillard and Fisk Universities) were established in whole or in part by contributions from Jewish philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, then Chairman of Sears and Roebuck.  In partnership with Booker T. Washington and Tuskegee University, Rosenwald created a fund which provided seed money for building 5,000 schools for black Americans, mostly in the rural South. At one time some forty percent of rural southern blacks were learning at Rosenwald elementary schools.

Jews were also foot soldiers during the Civil Rights Movement.  Jewish activists made up over half of the young people who participated in the Mississippi Freedom Summer in 1964. That year, Jewish Leaders were arrested with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Florida after a challenge to racial segregation in public accommodations. And most famously, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marched arm-in-arm with Dr. King in his 1965 March on Selma.

In 1964, two young New Yorkers, Michael Schwerner and An­drew Goodman, served as voter registration volunteers in Mississippi. One of their coworkers was a young black Mississippian named James Cheney. Together they were mur­dered by Klansmen and their bodies dumped in a secret grave. As much as any single factor, it was the nationwide attention given the discov­ery of their corpses that accelerated passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Black-Jewish Relations in the South

As far back as the 19th century, Jewish storekeepers were virtually the only Southern merchants who addressed black customers as "Mr." and "Mrs." and permitted them to try on clothing. But for Jews living in the south during the first half of the 20th century, the issue of racial integration posed unsettling questions. They constituted barely one percent of the region's total population. Among their white neighbors, they had long been accepted as "honorary white Protestants."

In 1954, that social order was challenged head-on. In the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the Supreme Court accepted the research of the black sociologist Kenneth Clark that segregation placed the stamp of inferi­ority on black children. Clark's study had been commissioned by the American Jewish Committee.  The Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Congress also submitted amicus curiae briefs in behalf of the cause. Within the next dozen years, a series of federal laws and court orders shattered every legal support of racial segregation,

Many Southern Jews did not actively support the Civil Rights Movement. It was not that they believed segregation to be right, but they knew that actively supporting desegregation could be dangerous. It often meant the loss of jobs or customers and clients. It could also mean having crosses burned on their front lawns or the bombing of their synagogues.

Most southern Jews were merchants, dependent on the good will of their neighbors. In the Deep South, if they hesitated to join “White Citizens Councils”, they felt the pressure immediately. "The money dried up at the banks and loans were called in," recalled one Jewish storekeeper.

Northern Jews, who participated in the vanguard of the movement, would eventually leave the south, and southern Jews needed to live within the white southern community. They had done so for years by keeping a low profile. The Civil Rights Movement was not low profile, and the actions of Northern Jews reflected upon Southern Jews, exposing them to the wrath of southern whites.

When Rabbi, Arthur Lelyveld was caught demonstrating on behalf of voting rights, he was severely beaten in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. A young physician, Edward Sachar, vol­unteering his medical services to the freedom marchers, nearly lost his life as his automobile was forced off a Mississippi back road by local rednecks

As a result of incidents like these, most local Jews tended to adopt a low profile on the race issue. At the express wish of their congregations, a majority of Southern Rabbis similarly agreed to be restrained. No more than six or seven of them in the entire South worked openly to promote the cause of civil rights. Of these, Rabbi Julian Feibelman of New Orleans opened the doors of his Temple Sinai in 1949 for a lecture by Ralph Bunche, the black United Nations Ambassador, permitting the first major integrated audience in New Orleans’s history.

Northern Jews

But in more than making up for their southern brethren’s timidity during these historic years, it was the participation of Northern Jews in the Civil Rights Movement that left Judaism’s stamp on the cause. Many of them were the earliest supporters of the movement. Jewish participation in the Civil Rights movement far transcended institutional associations. One black leader in Mississippi es­timated that in the 1960s, the critical decade of the voting-registration drives, "as many as 90 percent of the civil rights lawyers in Missis­sippi were Jewish."

The Jews had long since achieved their own political and economic breakthrough and rarely had any community gone to such lengths to share its painfully achieved status with others.

A Difficult Period

But as progress was made in the civil rights arena, relations between the black and Jewish communities frayed. The rise of the Black Power movement, critical of King's inclusive and nonviolent approach to ending racism, led to increased tensions. More recently, a riot in 1991 in the ethnically diverse Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y., further eroded Jewish support.  Twenty years later, Crown Heights residents continue to work on neighborhood relations.

Shared Dreams

Today, it is apparent that decades of dedicated effort, blood, sweat, and tears have paid off.  While sadly, individuals will always live among us who cannot grow above their own ignorance, the institutional and systemic bigotry that festered throughout so much of this country for more than a hundred years after the Civil War is no longer seen in this nation.  And to the great and everlasting credit of those that stood up to the machine of hatred that was the “old south”, the waves of south east Asian, eastern European, Russian, and more recently the tremendous influx of Mexicans finding their way to our shores have not had to contend with a society divided and stacked against them in their desire to join in the American dream.           

While I did live through it, I was just a bit too young in the early sixties to have had an understanding then of why the bond between our peoples held together during those years with such strength and loyalty.  Perhaps our common heritage of slavery had something to do with it.

B'nai B'rith Executive Vice President Dan Mariaschin says, "Jews and blacks worked together during some of the most tumultuous times this country has ever known. The positive nation-altering advances that partnership heralded can provide a useful roadmap to pick up the trail of dialogue and understanding."  On this, the 25th anniversary of the Federal holiday dedicated to the late Dr. King, I suggest to you again, as it was so eloquently written by Mr. Thomas Jefferson over 235 years ago, that “…all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.

May we soon live in a country where bigotry, segregation, and racial barriers or favoritism no longer play a role in our life as individuals or as a nation.

Another Hail and Farewell

Well, with the possible exception of the world ending in these next few days, we’ve made it through 2011.  Unlike 2010, this past year held some fairly exciting, and tragic moments with most of them taking place far across the globe.  Vying for the top story was the killing of Osama Bin Laden, Japans triple devastation at the hands of Mother Nature, Mr. Gadhaffi’s trip to the meat locker, and perhaps what has become known as “The Arab Spring” which is fast turning into a Muslim winter. In looking back, the Wall Street occupiers or the Congressional showdowns we have witnessed in this hemisphere, just don’t  match up to the kind of history making moments that have unfolded across the planet.

As I always do, this past week I caught the segment “Hail and Farewell” on CBS Sunday Morning.  It annually uses the last broadcast of the year to help remember, in pictures and in words, those who have left us a bit poorer for their passing.  All the notables were there including Steve Jobs, Elizabeth Taylor, Betty Ford, and James Arness, but I wondered who else we might have had the opportunity to remember if only the segment lasted more than just the 13 minutes CBS gave it.

Tony Geiss left us this year, Children all over world would be humming a different tune had he not given us the score from The Land Before Time, Spielberg’s An American Tail, and nearly half of the  Sesame Street songbook.  Fred Steiner wrote a bit as well.  As a conductor, composer and arranger, scores of shows and movies like The Color Purple, Perry Mason, and Hogan’s Heroes to The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, The Twilight Zone, and Return of the Jedi would not have sounded the same.  Fred was 88 years young.

Leo Kahn got tired of having to shop in a catalog every time he needed supplies for his office, as the founder of Staples; he solved that problem for all of us.  For his second act, Leo gave us Whole Foods Market.  Murray Handwerker was also an American businessman who toiled with his Father at their small food stand in Coney Island.  Needing to expand the business to feed two families, Murray took over and renovated “The Roadside Rest” in Oceanside, New York.  After a few struggling years, Murray reintroduced his Fathers menu and renamed the place after him, Nathan’s. The rest is hot dog history.  Murray was just shy of 90 at his passing.

Some called him “The Silver Fox” but to most of us he will always be remembered as “The Duke of Flatbush”.  Edwin Donald “Duke” Snyder was a world class center fielder who played briefly for the Mets and the San Francisco Giants but will always be remembered for his 15 seasons with those Bums, the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Ruth Roberts used her Julliard education to write for the likes of the Beatles and Buddy Holly, but she will most be remembered for her connection to baseball as well for in 1963, she penned the fight song “Meet the Mets” for that brand new N.Y. franchise.

Speaking of Buddy Holly, Carl Bunch was invited to play the drums for him at the 1959 “Winter Dance Party” in Clear Lake, Iowa.  The temperature was well below zero that frigid February morning and the tour bus heater failed causing Bunch to come down with a case of frostbite.  The drummer went to the hospital while Ritchie Valens, “The Big Bopper”, and Buddy Holly boarded that fateful flight.  Carl rejoined the band this past March.

George Charles Ballas was an American Entrepreneur.  While the Father of a famous ballroom dancer, and Grandfather to Mark Ballas of Dancing with the Stars, he will probably be best remembered not for cutting a rug, but for trimming the lawn.  He gave us the Weed Eater in 1971.  Alan Haberman took a chance on a quirky idea when on a summer morning in 1974, someone brought him a small paper square filled with lines and told him it would revolutionize his supermarket.  At 8:01AM on June 26th of that year, a 10 pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum slid down the conveyor belt, passing an optical scanner, and rang up .67 cents. The inventor of the bar code died in Newton Mass. on June 12th.

John W. Herivel lived most of his life in obscurity; it came with the job he accepted over 71 years ago.  Herivel was a code breaker, but not just any code breaker.  Herivel discovered the “Herival Tip” while working at Bletchley Park outside of London from 1940 through 1945.  This “Tip” allowed Allied cryptanalysts to determine which German radio operator was sending a signal, saving time in translation and thereby saving countless thousands of American and British pilots from ambush.  One of those planes likely saved over the English Channel was carrying 1st Lt. Richard “Dick” Winters.  Winters, who would be a Major by the VE Day, commanded Company “E”, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101 Airborne Division.  It would take too long to highlight for you his war time accomplishments; after all, it took HBO ten weeks and over 700 minutes of air time to tell the story of his “Band of Brothers” Major Winters was the last of the Easy Company commanders to pass away.

Americans lost some true pioneers in the year that was, Virginia Shanta Klinekole, born in 1924 was a Politician from New Mexico.  She was also a full blooded Apache, and the first woman to be named “Chief” of that tribe when she was elected as the President of the Mescalero Apache Council.  Violet “Vi” Cowden was a trailblazer in her own right.  Cowden was the first of only 114 Woman’s Airforce Service Pilots, (WASP”S) to fly for the United States Army Air Corp during World War Two.  Ferrying military planes from the factories to their bases for deployment, Cowden flew P-47’s, P-39’s, P-63 Kingcobra’s and her favorite, the P-51 Mustang.  Violet hung up her chute at 95 this year.

Charles LeRoy Gittens served this country’s military proudly, but he will always be remembered as the first African American Secret Service Agent.  Dorothy Edwards Brunson was a broadcaster.  She spent many working years in the 70’s working for many of New York’s top stations, but she left all that in 1979 to start WEBB in Baltimore, making her the first African American woman to own a radio station.  Not satisfied, she sold her holdings in 1990 to establish WGTW in a Philadelphia suburb making her the first African American woman to own a television station as well.

John Carroll Dye who played “Andrew” in that wonderful series was truly “Touched by an Angel” when he stepped into the light one last time this past January.  You might have thought that given her profession, Dorothy Lena Young might have escaped the final curtain, but even Harry Houdini’s stage assistant could not unlock the last mystery.  I give her an “A” for effort though; she was 103 when she disappeared.

The list goes on, there is Charles Huron Kaman who not only pioneered the gas turbine helicopter with Igor Sikorsky, but used his love of music to create the Ovation Guitar.  Dr. Alfred Mordecai Freedman who in 1973 used his painstaking research to have the American Psychiatric Foundation remove Homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses.  Clarise Taylor, whose ground breaking work started with the American Negro Theatre and led her to roles with Otto Preminger, Clint Eastwood, and her most memorable casting as Anna Huxtable on The Bill Cosby Show, and we even lost Ralph Lomma, who along with his brother Al have given us nearly 60 years of putting a golf ball past a windmill or through a clowns head as the inventor of Miniature golf played his last hole in September.

Perhaps the one loss that I would have expected to see on CBS was noticeably absent.  Albert “Doc” Brown was a dentist.  In 1937 his principal claim to fame was that he was the godson of Buffalo Bill, and the cousin of actor Henry Fonda.  In 1937, Brown entered the military and was promptly shipped to the Philippines.  Brown, along with thousands of American and Filipino troops was captured in 1942 when the Japanese invaded.  The enemy troops forced 78,000 Allied prisoners of war to march 65 miles from Bataan to a POW camp without food, water, or medical attention.  Nearly 11,000 prisoners died during the march.  Brown recorded the events he witnessed using a secret writing tablet hidden in the lining of his medical bag.
Brown would endure three more years of imprisonment during which he ate nothing but rice, became infected with more than 12 diseases, suffered a broken neck and back, and went nearly blind from malnutrition.  He had lost over 80 pounds, and was told by his doctors that because of his severe condition, he would not live to see 50 years of age.  He was 40 when he was rescued.  This year, at the unbelievable age of 105, Doctor Albert Brown, DMD, had the last laugh on his captors, and apparently, his doctors!
The late Andy Rooney, whom we also lost this year, used to say that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.  I am fairly certain that no one reading this can say that this time of year is easy.  We all remember that last New Year’s kiss with a Parent no longer with us, or holiday memories of our children who have grown and gone.  I for one am a firm believer that love, not time, heals all wounds, so this New Years Eve, dance like you would if nobody was looking, sing like you don’t need the money, and laugh and love till the sun comes up.  It’s times like this that require a really bold and brave running start if 2012 is going to be a good one.
Happy New Year to you all.

A Jewish Perspective on Christmas

I’ve come to believe that as a practicing Jew, I probably have more in common with my Catholic and Christian friends who attend Church, than I do with un-observant Jews.  I believe it is likely that if they were to think about it, those same friends would find more in common with me, than they would with the non-practicing of their own faith as well.  I have also come to believe, that the word “believe” is at the root of that commonality.

The rich, the poor, the strong, the frail, and even the lucky all have their stories of how these seemingly never ending difficult times have “tried their souls”.  Some of us have lost livelihoods in this economic cesspool that once was the American engine of success.  Some have seen their families dissolve as the monies that maintained their materialism vanished, and the wounds of a loveless marriage could no longer be concealed.  And still others have lost forever the warmth and the grace of ones they have loved. 

The way I’ve come to tell the difference between my “believers” and the “non’s” has been in how they have handled their adversity.  Those that have continued to be charitable to others, love their neighbors, spend time with their children, and keep G-d in their lives, seem to be doing better than their circumstances should allow.  So why is that?

One can almost feel the palpable proof that the weeks leading up to the 25^th of December bring a special sparkle to everything that moves.  Maybe it’s just the season, after all even if the church has had some difficulty keeping their parishioners  attention, Macy’s, Hallmark, Toys R’ Us, and Hollywood have certainly done great work of keeping us in the spirit.  Or maybe there is something more?

If all Christmas boiled down to was extended shopping lists, over-eating, and thousands of dollars spent on outdoor decorations, why do so many of our “enlightened left” spend so much of their time fighting the very mention of the day?  It’s because there is something more!

Christmas is that chance for all to say thank you, to say I’m sorry, to say I miss you, or to say I love and appreciate you, all under the cover of G-d.  It is a season when the most hardened of us can cry of love lost, forgive another for transgression, or allow those estranged from us back into our hearts.

I refuse to believe that goodness and kindness occur in a vacuum. From before written words were shared, mankind has always had some little spark of innate kindness in him.  As a person of faith, I am comfortable in my belief that G-d is that spark, and while it might not thrill some to admit that they may not be entirely in control of their own destiny, for most of us, this season brings a comforting reminder that a force greater than us all, is watching and guiding us on a path that is good.

Truth be told, the Christmas season has its dark side.  Shoppers lined up for hours to buy gifts for relatives not seen since last Christmas, cooking, cleaning, wrapping, decorating, and then back to cooking again, and traffic jams that can be seen from space.  But Christmas also has a way of bringing out the best in those of us who have kept that golden glow trapped inside while the more mundane months of the year creak by. 

While I will always share a philosophical difference with my non-Jewish friends over the religious aspects of the Christmas holiday, I share wholeheartedly the need, if not the reason, for the season.  

A Perspective on Thanksgiving

I’ve shared some of this before and thought it would be appropriate to bring it up as Thanksgiving approached.  I am reminded again of how I was tuned into one of the cable news channels to watch as poll data was shared concerning the American state of mind.   

The poll alleged that 49 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed, and 51 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President.  In essence, half of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

Now I can understand with the President angering everyone on the right, and Congress pissing off everyone period, there is ample reason out there to be upset.  But when you look closely at the poll, there would seem to be a deeper unhappiness brewing among the folks.  So with a Right Brain and a Left Heart, I started thinking, ''What are we so unhappy about?''

Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?  Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?  Could it be that 91 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?  Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Is it the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state, or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter that has us so distraught?

I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough.  Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and Provide services to help, and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital if needed.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if while at home, watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs, or militias, raping or pillaging, and where nearly 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?  Maybe that is what has 49 percent of you unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has such a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good L-rd we live here.

I know, I know. What about this President who couldn’t lead his way out of a paper bag with a flashlight and scissors? Or that the President has tried to shove everything from Socialist healthcare to same sex marriage down our throats whether we like it or not. Or the Congress, who on any given Sunday make Ali Baba and his band of thieves look like a bunch of amateurs.

Well when last I checked, no Congressmen was waiting at my door this morning, keeping me from going to work, and no U.S. Senator hid the keys to my car when I was out looking for work, I was by right as an American citizen, free to make every effort I had the strength for, to better my own lot.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 49 percent of Americans?  Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds, it leads; and they specialize in bad news.  Everybody will watch a car crash on a “dash-cam”, but how many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another. If you don’t believe me, let me suggest the following:

On May 24, 2011 Attorneys for Casey Anthony offered opening arguments in their successful bid to defend their Client before Judge Belvin Perry.  42 days later, a jury of her “peers” found Ms. Anthony not guilty of a crime that most in America believed she committed.  As tragic as that verdict was to many, what I find more damming of us as a people is that in those seven short weeks, 73 American service men and women lost their lives in the deserts of Afghanistan, and while the names of Casey, Caylee, and Jose Baez will linger through the year, I doubt if any of you could name just one of those fallen heroes.

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage.  Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

Yes we will change the President.  Yes we will climb out of this slump.  Yes we will bring America back to a time when hard work, character, and patriotism were what made this country a success.  We will I pray, do it this time without the racism, segregation, bigotry, and anti-Semitism that so pervaded the underbelly of our Parents America, but we will do it.  We are Americans, and that’s just what we do!

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, try and remember that we are among the most blessed people on Earth, and should thank G-d every day for being born in this, the greatest country ever.  Chin up and chest out America, we’ve done it before, and we can do it again!

Thanksgiving Day, November 11th

It is not the reporter who has given us freedom of the press, nor the lawyer who has given us the right to a fair trial. The politician is not the reason we have the right to vote, nor the author who has given us our freedom of speech.  For all of these privileges, you can thank the Soldier.  And while it may be appropriate to thank your teachers for the ability to read these words, it is the Soldier you must thank for having the free will to read them in English. In paraphrasing these words by Charles M. Provence I suggest to you that November 11^th is this nation’s true day of Thanksgiving.

Unlike that Monday in May, when we pause to remember those brave few who have given as Lincoln suggested, “their last full measure of devotion”, Veteran’s Day was established for the purpose of honoring those dedicated men and women who have stood in great harm’s way to protect our freedom, and have blessedly returned home to live and love again.

Following their victories in Europe and the Pacific, our Parents and Grandparents who fought WW2 are often referred to as the “greatest generation”.  In 1943, nearly 11 million Americans were in uniform, most of them single men. Today, nearly 20% of our uniformed services are women, many of them juggling families along with their military career.  Sergeants and Petty Officers are no longer 19 years old commanding a platoon of other teens, but are more likely to be in their 30’s and 40’s, own their own home, and have a family to support. We should also remember that while many volunteered, nearly 10 million of those who fought the Axis more than half a century ago were drafted into their respective service.  Today, not a single service man or woman holds their rank as result of conscription; they are a truly professional fighting force.

Given their dedication, love of country, and the fact that they have willfully chosen to place themselves in harm’s way so that we might continue to live safely, I think a case can certainly be made for this generation of Soldier, Sailor, and Marine to be considered “the greatest”. 

That said, how do we thank them this November 11^th?  Fortunately, there are hundreds of organizations coast to coast whose mission is to help not only our returning Veterans, but the thousands of active and still deployed personnel.  Some of my favorites are:

The Fisher House    info@fisherhouse.org

The Fisher House program is a unique private-public partnership that supports America's military in their time of need. The program recognizes the special sacrifices of our men and women in uniform and the hardships of military service.

Because members of the military are stationed worldwide and must often travel great distances for specialized medical care, Fisher House Foundation donates "comfort homes," built on the grounds of major military centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful of times, during the hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury. The Fisher House Foundation uses donations to reimburse the individual facilities operated by the Army, Navy, and Air Force. No family pays to stay at any Fisher House!

Wounded Warrior Project (WWP)     www.woundedwarriorproject.org

WWP is a non-profit organization whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors. and to assist those men and women of our armed forces who have been injured during the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations around the world.  WWP raises awareness and enlists public aid for the needs of service men and women and provides unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs

Then, of course, there is my favorite way to say thank you, and that is just to say it.  Surly if a twenty year old corporal can gather the courage to step into the line of fire in Fallujah, you can find the guts to stroll up to a service member in the airport and offer a smile and a handshake. 

You can show your respect by sharing your pride in their service with the next generation. To paraphrase an old song, teach your children.  Explain to them that freedom is not free, and that while we are most assuredly the land of the free, it is because of the brave that we remain so.  Visit a VA Hospital.  This might be a bit tough for the younger kids, but I can think of no better way to impress upon high school age teens the true cost of their X-Box and internet!

Hire a Vet!  In this tough work environment, the New Jersey job market can be nearly as challenging a territory as their tour was overseas. The unemployment rate for returning Veterans can be 2 to 4 points higher than the already staggering national average?  Try contacting “The Champion Mentor Program” at Rutgers State University or www.enableamerica.org which specializes in finding employment for disabled Veterans.  

It is comforting to look forward to November and December and the festivals they bring, but I know that were it not for those who serve and have sacrificed so that we would not have to, the joy and love of the season that is upon us might never have been.

A mortar exploded in my Fathers landing craft while approaching Omaha’s “Dog Green” beach on the morning of June 6, 1944.  Of all the men that rode that Higgins’s Boat into the withering German fire, only two survived the day.  By the 12^th of June, my Dad held the only winning ticket.  Seven long months, three Purple Hearts, and a Silver Star later, Dad, an Army Medic, was that December, finally sent home.

To all of the men and women that have worn the uniform of this country, to all those who have served on the home front or in harm’s way, to all that continue to preserve, protect, and defend our great nation, and to you Dad;  Thank you.

  

A War Seen Clearer Through Time.

This year, Americans will celebrate the 92nd anniversary of Veterans Day, which began with a Presidential proclamation as Armistice Day in November of 1919.

Armistice Day was initially set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but after the great mobilization of Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen during World War II, and after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, Congress amended the official remembrance by striking the word "Armistice", and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

I am old enough to remember a generation when Veteran’s Day was barely acknowledged even by the retailers who might benefit from additional sales.  Our then President Jimmy Carter, in his own words described America as struggling through “a malaise” where heroes and patriotism were but a faded memory.

But morning in America dawned, and with it a new Presidency which restored hope and faith not only for every day Americans, but for the men and women who so proudly served this country.  In the years that followed, successive actions in Grenada, Lebanon, Bosnia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan have served to elevate our fighting men and women back to the proud pedestal once held when their Fathers fought “The Good War”, but it wasn’t always that way…

From the end of the Korean Conflict till President Kennedy began his deployment of “Military Advisors” to the country of Vietnam in 1961, the United States was generally able to skirt the many local and regional squabbles taking place around the globe.  This country’s actual military involvement in Vietnam began as assistance to the French in the fall of 1932.  It would take more than three decades, but our small contingent of advisors would grow to a force that would virtually destroy one nation, and eternally fracture another.

The war in Vietnam, unlike virtually every conflict this Nation had seen before, was an action whose goals were essentially political.  At risk was not our independence, our southern or western boarders, our union, or even freedom itself; it was our government’s desire to restrain the growth and expansion of a rival form of government called Communism.  With war aims as insipid as those, it is in hindsight no wonder the conflict left us holding our first military defeat, and nursing a deeply divided country back from the brink of social anarchy. 

It is embarrassing to look back now and realize just how many in this nation vented their anger and disdain not just on those in power, but on the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who in their loyalty and service to this country, were powerless to do anything but advance and enforce the goals of their commanders.

Five difficult years had passed from the last helicopter leaving Saigon in April of 1975 till the inauguration of Ronald Reagan as President.  It took nearly as long as the war itself, but America was again ready to restore its faith and confidence in those who fill the boots that protect us.  Perhaps no greater Mea Culpa  could be seen than when some half a million Americans of all ages, races, and backgrounds lined Broadway in lower Manhattan on May 7, 1985 as 25,000 of our Veterans of South East Asia proudly marched the parade path.

Earlier that year, President Reagan accepted on behalf of a grateful nation, the then completed Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.  An almost obelisk like scare in the landscape, the memorial was unlike anything this nation had seen before.

Carved in its stones is the story of America, of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency.  There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.  Something to think about is that most of the surviving parents of the dead, are now deceased themselves.

The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date, and within each date, the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe we have lived 36 years since the last casualties.

The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass., listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.  The last American Soldier killed in the War was Kelton Rena Turner, an 18-year old Marine, killed in action on May 15, 1975.

There are three sets of Fathers and sons on the Wall. 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.  The largest age group, 8,283, were just 19 years old.  12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old, 5 were 16, and one soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years of age when lost in battle.

997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam, 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last.  31 sets of brothers are on the Wall, forever reminding us that thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.

8 Women are on the Wall, killed while nursing the wounded.  244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.

West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation with 711 killed.  Beallsville, Ohio with a population of only 475 lost 6 of her sons.  The most deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 at 245.  The most deaths for a single month was May 1968 at 2,415.

For many Americans who read this, they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of my generation that survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. They were our friends, Fathers, Husbands, Wife's, sons and daughters.

There were deep divisions about the wisdom and rightness of the Vietnam War. Yet after more than a decade of desperate boat people, after the killing fields of Cambodia, after all that has happened in that unhappy part of the world, who can doubt that the cause for which our men fought was just?  Through the hindsight of historical analysis, it was after all the cause of freedom, just imperfectly pursued.

This Veterans Day, as we do every year, we take a moment to embrace the gentle heroes of Vietnam and of all our wars. We remember those who were called upon to give their last full measure of devotion for our country, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if demanded of them, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them ennobled their nation. Our liberties, our values, all for which America stands is safe today because brave men and women have been ready to face the fire at freedom's front. And we thank G-d for them.

How G-d Created the E.M.T.

When the Lord made EMT's and Paramedics, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one." And the Lord said, "Have you read the specs on this order?

An EMS provider has to be able to carry an injured person up a wet, grassy hill in the dark, dodge stray bullets to reach a dying child unarmed, enter homes the health inspector wouldn't touch, and not wrinkle their uniform."

"They have to be able to lift 3 times their own weight, crawl into wrecked cars with barely enough room to move, and console a grieving mother as they are doing CPR on a baby they know will never breathe again."

"They have to be in top mental condition at all times, running on no sleep, black coffee and half-eaten meals. And they have to have six pairs of hands."  The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands, no way."

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord, "It's the three pairs of eyes an EMT has to have." "That's on the standard model?" asked the angel. The Lord nodded. 

"One pair that sees open sores as they're drawing blood and asks the patient if they may be HIV positive," (when they already know, and wish they'd taken that accounting job), another pair here, on the side of the head for their partners' safety, and another pair of eyes in front that can look supportively at a frightened person and gently explain that their spouse of many years has departed this life."

"Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve, "rest and work on this tomorrow." "I can't," said the Lord, "I already have a model that can talk a 250 pound drunk out from behind a steering wheel without incident and feed a family of five on a private service paycheck."

The angel circled the model of the medic very slowly, "Can it think?" she asked. "You bet," said the Lord. "It can tell you the symptoms of 100 illnesses; recite drug calculations in its sleep; intubate, defibrillate, medicate, and continue CPR nonstop over terrain that any doctor would fear, and still it keeps its sense of humor.

This medic also has phenomenal personal control. He can deal with a multi-victim trauma, coax a frightened elderly person to unlock their door, comfort an assault victim's family, and then read an article in the daily paper about responders being too slow to locate a house (which had no street sign and no house numbers.)"

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the EMT. "There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model." "That's not a leak," said the Lord, "It's a tear." "What's the tear for?" asked the angel.

"It's for bottled-up emotions, for patients they've tried in vain to save, for commitment to that hope that they will make a difference in a person's chance to survive, for seeing an accident victim walk again, for the family time they will miss while serving the community, for life." 

"You're a genius," said the angel.

G-d replied…..

"I didn't put it there."