Jewish Chaplains Memorial to be dedicated on October 24 at Arlington
The Pennsylvania Capitol is proud to host the new memorial to fallen Jewish military chaplains from Thursday October 13, 2011 at 1:00pm to Friday October 14, 2011 at 10:00am. The memorial will be on display in the Pennsylvania Capitol Rotunda. A ceremony for this event will be held on Thursday October 13, 2011 at 2:00pm. Scheduled to talk at this event includes:
- Lieutenant Colonel Timothy S. Mallard, Chaplain, U.S. Army War College
- Major Max Furman, Chaplain, Joint Forces HQ, Pennsylvania National Guard Chaplain
- Presentation by the Dauphin County Color Guard
- Frances Viglietta, Pennsylvania Catholic Conference
- Stephen Drachler, United Methodist Advocacy in Pennsylvania
- Hank Butler, Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition
The monument will be formally dedicated on October 24 at Arlington National Cemetery. Of the fourteen Jewish Chaplains who have given their lives in service, four have ties to Pennsylvania:
- Rabbi Henry Goody, served a temple in Greensburg, PA before volunteering in WW II.
- Rabbi Alexander Goode served a temple in York, PA before becoming the first Jewish chaplain to give his life for his country by offering his life jacket to other soldiers as his troopship sank off Greenland in February 1943.
- Rabbi Solomon Rosen attended Army Chaplain School that was located in Carlisle, PA before his tragic death in an airplane crash in 1948.
- Rabbi Meir Engel led a synagogue in Philadelphia before taking up a career as a military chaplain and becoming the first Jewish Chaplain in Vietnam,
The campaign to erect the Jewish chaplains memorial, initiated by Ken Kraetzer and jointly led by JWB Jewish Chaplains Council and Jewish Federations of North America, has taken several years to reach its successful conclusion and involved the concerted effort of many community organizations, including the Sons of the American Legion and Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance. A necessary joint resolution of Congress permitted the construction of the new monument, which will be placed on Chaplains Hill next to similar memorials dedicated to Catholic, Protestant and World War I chaplains.
The October 24 ceremony at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery is open to the public and everyone is encouraged to attend. “We hope people from all over the country come to the dedication at Arlington,” said Rabbi Harold Robinson, director of JWB Jewish Chaplains Council. “This is an extraordinary event for the Jewish community, and for anyone who is concerned that proper respect be paid to chaplains who died while on active duty. The American military chaplains’ corps is unique in its dedication and commitment to the diversity of religious expression in our armed forces.”
Before its formal dedication, the new monument will be displayed at different venues, allowing people who may not be able to visit Arlington to view it. The tour, sponsored by the Dignity Memorial® network of funeral providers, will include stops in South Carolina, Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
The day’s events on October 24 will begin with a wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns at 11:15 a.m. The Tomb of the Unknowns is located next to the Memorial Amphitheater. Full details are at www.jcca.org/jwb.
More than 250 American chaplains of all faiths have died while on active duty in the U. S. Armed Forces. In 1926, the chaplains who served in World War I erected the first Chaplains Monument at Arlington National Cemetery, dedicated to the memory of their 23 colleagues who gave their lives in that conflict. In 1981, a separate monument was erected to memorialize 134 Protestant chaplains who died in World Wars I and II. Eight years later, a similar memorial to 83 Catholic chaplains who died in World War II, Korea and Vietnam was consecrated on Chaplains Hill. Now, through the efforts of many individuals and organizations of all faiths, a memorial to the 14 Jewish chaplains who died while on active duty will stand alongside those of their Protestant and Catholic brethren.
The 14 Jewish chaplains include: (World War II) Rabbi Alexander Goode, Rabbi Herman L. Rosen, Rabbi Henry Goody, Rabbi Samuel D. Hurwitz, Rabbi Louis Werfel, Rabbi Irving Tepper, Rabbi Nachman S. Arnoff, Rabbi Frank Goldenberg; (Cold War Era) Rabbi Solomon Rosen, Rabbi Samuel Rosen; (Vietnam/S.E. Asia) Rabbi Meir Engel, Rabbi Joseph Hoenig, Rabbi Morton H. Singer and Rabbi David Sobel.
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