Yesterday, more than 140,000 people attended the dedication of the National World War II Memorial in Washington D.C..  President Bush was one of many distinguished guests who spoke at the dedication ceremony.  For full coverage of the event, check out CNN.com’s story.  You can also learn more about the memorial itself at the National WWII Memorial official website.

As the number of living veterans of the war dwindles, I was tremendously happy to see so many of them out there to finally see a memorial worthy of their sacrifice.  It is unfortunate that so many others (like my grandfather) never got to see it.

Some interesting facts about Jews in World War II:

At a time when Jews made up only 3.33% of the population of the U.S., the approximately 550,000 Jews who served in the military made up 4.23% of the military.

About 60% of all Jewish physicians in the United States under 45 years of age were in the Service.

*source: Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America

photo by Rick Latoff