Aaronson's Alert

left to right: Shelley Rood, Jewish Federations of North America, Commissioner Aaronson, Danielle Hartman, Ruth Rales Jewish Family Services and Rabbi Sanford Dresin.

left to right: Shelley Rood, Jewish Federations of North America, Commissioner Aaronson, Danielle Hartman, Ruth Rales Jewish Family Services and Rabbi Sanford Dresin.

On a bitter winter night in 1943, four Army Chaplains stood on the deck of the torpedoed and foundering USAT Dorchester, while hundreds of American soldiers around them prepared to slip into the icy depths of the North Atlantic.  After they removed their life jackets and gave them to others sealing their fates aboard the doomed Army transport vessel, the chaplains – one Catholic, two Protestant and one Jewish – were last seen with their heads bowed in prayer, offering spiritual comfort to the terrified soldiers.

At Arlington National Cemetery, monuments honor Catholic, Protestant and World War I chaplains who died on active duty.  On Monday, October 24th, 14 Jewish chaplains who died in service to our country got the recognition that they deserved.  It took nearly four years and $50,000 in donations but the seven-foot granite monument with an attached bronze plaque listing their names was dedicated in a ceremony attended by representatives of the Armed Forces, Congress, the Jewish community and relatives of the fallen chaplains. 

Prior to October 24th, the plaque was on tour up the east coast to Arlington.  I had the privilege of viewing it while it was on display at the Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service’s Weisman Delray Community Center.  There was a short program about the monument and the role of Jewish chaplains in the military that featured Rabbi Sanford Dresin, a retired colonel in the United States Army and Director of Military Programs at the Aleph Institute.  Rabbi Dresin served with three of those named on the monument.  In sharing my thoughts during the program, I said, “This plaque is long overdue and I hope one day the government will thank the Jewish war veterans by having a stamp issued in their honor.”

In the coming weeks, we will be observing Veterans Day and remembering the attack on Pearl Harbor.  In a sense, these two days remind us that we are very proud of those who fought and died to keep our country safe and to preserve our freedom.  It is fitting that Thanksgiving falls between November 11th and December 7th.  As you gather around your Thanksgiving table with your family and friends and give thanks for all that we have, remember all the brave men and women who served or are serving in our Armed Forces.  Remember those four chaplains, Catholic, Protestant and Jewish who stood together on the deck of the Dorchester praying and bringing a sense of calm and peace to a tragic situation.