Continuing with a nod to our veterans this Memorial Day:  A Dallas news station recently covered a story on a program that offers full military burial for homeless veterans.  You can read the story or view the news report here.

The program is called the Homeless Veterans Burial Program.  Dignity Memorial® funeral and cemetery providers administer the program in selected cities across the nation.  The funding and support comes from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Veterans Administration, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, local veterans organizations, medical examiners, coroners, and veterans advocates.

When I decided to marry my Marine, I thought I was giving up on my career goal of getting a Masters degree in Jewish Education.  This is a fairly new degree, and it is only offered at a few schools-none of which are near a Marine base. 

It wasn’t until after the wedding, with some helpful advice from my friends at JESNA (Jewish Education Service of North America) and the resources on their website, that I found the best solution: the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies’ distance learning program.  In this program I found the flexibility that I needed in a school whose reputation I could trust.

Since I began my degree program at Spertus, I have noticed that many schools are jumping on the distance learning bandwagon.  They are beginning to cater to a new kind of student who cannot relocate to their campus.  Whether it is their family or their full time job that they cannot leave, many individuals are seeking unconventional means to get their education.  I think numerous colleges are starting to get the hint.  This is of course great news for military spouses who thought they had to give up their education for their service member.  This is one sacrifice we no longer have to make.

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This month Edward Alan Brudno, a Jewish, Air Force 1stLt, became the first Vietnam veteran who committed suicide after returning home to have his name engraved on the Wall.

While some may find this case controversial, this Washington Post article explains the circumstances of Brudno’s case in detail.  His story is a sad and touching one, and something I thought would be appropriate to share on Memorial Day.

The Army has begun a suggestion program where people can make suggestions online and even win some cash if the Army uses your suggestion.

Now before all you Jewish mamas go running out to suggest more sleep hours at boot camp, the program is only open to soldiers and Army civilian employees.  :) In fact, you need an Army Knowledge Online login as password to access the website.  If you are interested, you can obtain your login and password here.

The Lubavitch News Service has a brief story about Cpl Dustin Schrage, a marine with 2/4 who was killed this month in Al-Anbar Province, Iraq.

While the death of a service member is always tragic news, it is reassuring to know that proper kosher burial preparations were able to be arranged with the help of a Jewish chaplain.

Jews in Green has a brand new section called The Green Pages.  The idea is to compile and keep an up to date list of Jewish resources at duty stations around the globe.

This will be mostly powered by readers like you.  So send us what information you have and we’ll post it!  There is a very easy to use form in the Green Pages section so you can submit the information directly from the website. 

Right now it’s a very short list, but I think it will grow rather quickly.  We would always be interested in volunteers to do a little research beyond the gates of their own base too.

Two great resources for service members:

Homes for Our Troops is a new nonprofit group is raising money to build houses adapted to their needs.  John Gonsalves, a construction supervisor from Wareham, Massachusetts was concerned about the welfare of troops returning home with disabilities from the war on terror.  Only seven weeks after Homes for Our Troops began raising money, more than $100,000 in donations have rolled in, as well as $50,000 in labor and building materials.  For more information you can email the organization at .

Troops to Teachers is a U.S. Dept. of Education and DOD program that helps eligible military personnel begin a new career as teachers in public schools.  Most service members may not realize this, but much of your military service can count towards eligibility for a teacher certification.  There are 33 TTT offices nationwide that can assist military members with state certification requirements and provide significant financial assistance. Service members can take advantage of the TTT Web site, www.ProudToServeAgain.com, to correspond with representatives and receive alternative certification information.  There is an in-depth article on About.com about the history and details of the program.

Shavuot begins Tuesday evening, May 25, and continues until Thursday evening, May 27, 2004.

Shavuot seems to be one of those lesser known holidays in the Jewish calendar, so for those (myself included) who could use a little more explanation, About.com has a great article about the holiday’s customs, history, and even some Shavuot recipes.

For the more advanced readers, be sure to check out Aish’s full Shavuot spread.

While not about Jews in the U.S. military, Howard Blum’s The Brigade tells the story of the first all Jewish military unit in modern times.  The Jewish Brigade was formed by the British army with Jewish volunteers from British Palestine at the end of World War II.

This is by far one of my favorite books.  It is highly motivating to read about Jewish soldiers wreaking havoc on Nazi troops in Europe.  There’s a lot more to this book than a few military battles though.  You can read my full review to learn more. 

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Jews in Green has recently gone through a MAJOR upgrade.  I’ll spare our readers the technical details, but the new software JIG is running on now provides you, the user with a lot more features, more security, and a better overall online experience.

We now offer free membership, which will allow you greater access to the site and some added features.  You should also expect to start seeing guest writers on the site, something the new software will help with as well.

As with anything new, there are some chances for bugs or website errors.  I’ve thoroughly tested everything to try and eliminate this, but if you run into any problems anywhere on the website, let us know.