My wife and I are PCSing to Navy Sub Base Groton in Connecticut.  Does anyone have any input for places to live.  Specifically any neighborhoods with a good Jewish community?  Thanks for the support!

-Nuke

Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn (1910-1995), assigned to the Fifth Marine Division, was the first Jewish chaplain the Marine Corps ever appointed. The American invading force at Iwo Jima included approximately 1,500 Jewish Marines. Rabbi Gittelsohn was in the thick of the fray, ministering to Marines of all faiths in the combat zone. He shared the fear, horror and despair of the fighting men, each of whom knew that each day might be his last. Roland Gittelsohn’s tireless efforts to comfort the wounded and encourage the fearful won him three service ribbons.

When the fighting was over, Division Chaplain Warren Cuthriell, a Protestant minister, asked Rabbi Gittelsohn to deliver the memorial sermon at a combined religious service dedicating the Marine Cemetery. Cuthriell wanted all the fallen Marines – black and white, Protestant, Catholic and Jewish – honored in a single, nondenominational ceremony. Unfortunately, racial and religious prejudice was strong in the Marine Corps, as it was then throughout America. According to Rabbi Gittelsohn, the majority of Christian chaplains objected to having a rabbi preach over predominantly Christian graves. The Catholic chaplains, in keeping with church doctrine, opposed any form of joint religious service.

To his credit, Cuthriell refused to alter his plans. Gittelsohn, on the other hand, wanted to save his friend Cuthriell further embarrassment and so decided it was best not to deliver his sermon. Instead, three separate religious services were held. At the Jewish service, to a congregation of 70 or so who attended, Rabbi Gittelsohn delivered the powerful eulogy he originally wrote for the combined service:

Here lie men who loved America because their ancestors generations ago helped in her founding, and other men who loved her with equal passion because they themselves or their own fathers escaped from oppression to her blessed shores. Here lie officers and men, Negroes and whites, rich men and poor . . . together. Here are Protestants, Catholics and Jews together. Here no man prefers another because of his faith or despises him because of his color. Here there are no quotas of how many from each group are admitted or allowed. Among these men, there is no discrimination. No prejudices. No hatred. Theirs is the highest and purest democracy …

Whosoever of us lifts his hand in hate against a brother, or who thinks himself superior to those who happen to be in the minority, makes of this ceremony and the bloody sacrifice it commemorates, an empty, hollow mockery. To this, then, as our solemn duty, sacred duty do we the living now dedicate ourselves: to the right of Protestants, Catholics, and Jews, of white men and Negroes alike, to enjoy the democracy for which all of them have here paid the price …

We here solemnly swear that this shall not be in vain. Out of this and from the suffering and sorrow of those who mourn this will come, we promise, the birth of a new freedom for the sons of men everywhere.

Among Gittelsohn’s listeners were three Protestant chaplains so incensed by the prejudice voiced by their colleagues that they boycotted their own service to attend Gittelsohn’s. One of them borrowed the manuscript and, unknown to Gittelsohn, circulated several thousand copies to his regiment. Some Marines enclosed the copies in letters to their families. An avalanche of coverage resulted. Time magazine published excerpts, which wire services spread even further. The entire sermon was inserted into the Congressional Record, the Army released the eulogy for short-wave broadcast to American troops throughout the world and radio commentator Robert St. John read it on his program and on many succeeding Memorial Days.

In 1995, in his last major public appearance before his death, Gittelsohn re-read a portion of the eulogy at the fiftieth commemoration ceremony at the Iwo Jima statue in Washington, D.C. In his autobiography, Gittelsohn reflected, “I have often wondered whether anyone would ever have heard of my Iwo Jima sermon had it not been for the bigoted attempt to ban it.”

From the archives of the American Jewish Historical Society

Not that I’m complaining! Just commenting on my observations. I’ve become more religious on the past year or so, not a full blown Baal Teshuva but I’ve climbed the ladder from Reform and I go to Chabad services when I can. I was raised in a typical suburban Jewish family and we went to our local Reform Synagogue but all of a sudden that wasn’t doing it for me, which is strange for a lot of reasons… but I digress! I’m looking forward to my career in the Army, I’m hoping to branch MI or MP, but I can only work hard and cross my fingers. I’ll be proud in any job I get, though maybe not anything with too much math.

I was wondering about the prospect of being able to attend services at LDAC. The services have become something that I’ve come to value and being able to attend them would be great. I was guessing though that the likelihood of having Jewish services at LDAC were slim considering the composite of cadets. But I figured it was worth inquiring about. I was also wondering about why more Jewish soldiers don’t offer to organize lay groups, or if there was some way to do this at the posts they are stationed at. If I was at a post that had some Jewish soldiers but not available Rabbi’s or Jewish community would I be able to make the effort of trying to have a Jewish service? Are there restrictions on this? I think I’d just want to make sure I could maintain some of that connection and I know there are plenty of groups that offer to send materials to help you lead a service if thats the only option available.

If anyone has any other advice or things to say feel free to say them!

I just wanted to introduce myself glad to be on here.

First of all, I want to give my great thanks to the Jewish Community of Columbus, GA and their outstanding support for Jewish soldiers on Ft. Benning. My time at Basic and Airborne were much easier thanks to their support. What a wonderful community and Chaplain on Sand Hill.

Secondly, after being in the Army for almost 9 months now, it looks like I am finally going to have a more stable place to be for at least the next year or so. I’ll be at Ft. Bragg for at least the duration of my training. I’ve done some searching and found that there is a synagogue in the area, but I’ve tried to contact them with no avail. I’ve been a little skeptical of a lot of synagogues I find in the South as there are a lot of Messianic temples, etc. Does anyone have any information on this one? I do know the Chabad Rabbi in Raleigh and in Durham and have been up there for Shabbat, but it would be nice to find something a little closer.

Well anyway, thanks again for the help I’ve found on this site and look forward to contributing as much as I can.

Have a great day! and Good Week!

Thank you for anyone that has any answers. I’m trying to track down a Jewish chaplain but there is only one in the area and I refuse to speak to any other chaplains after a Protestant one on our base made anti-Semitic comments to me. My husband’s first brush with discrimination too.

I’m brand new here.  This looks like a great forum. 

I’m a civilian, but the reason I’ve joined this forum is because I have a question about becoming a contract linguist for the US military in Afghanistan. 

Last week, I was contacted by a recruiter who is looking for people fluent in Pashtu and Dari for contract work in Afghanistan.  I told him I speak and understand Farsi, which is similar.  He recommended I take courses in those language and get back to him by the 15th of March.  I’m not worried about learning the languages at all, since I speak and understand Farsi.  I also know Spanish, along with a bit of French and Hebrew. 

But my reason for posting is to ask you guys what it would be like to be deployed as a Jewish woman who has never worked with the military before.  What are the pros and cons?  What would I need to watch out for?  I asked the recruiter if being Jewish was a problem, but he said it depends on me.  He said not go telling everyone.  However, he did tell me that he knew of a few linguists who turned out to be Jews, and who did excellent work. 

Now I’m not ultra-observant.  However, I would like to know if I would be able to take off time for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.  Also, is it possible to get kosher food there.  Or would I just have to wing it? 

Finally, do you know of other Jews that do this kind of work.  How many of them are women? 

Thank you very much for your time.

I have a question and I’m hoping that one of the Chaplains who track this forum, or someone else equally knowledgeable can help me.

It is my intent to apply to Rabbinical School when I complete my undergrad studies in a few years.  Further, I intend to join the Chaplain Candidate program as soon as I am able while I am in School.  My question is this:  Most of the Rabbinical Schools I am considering have one of the years take place in Israel.  While I am thrilled at this potential opportunity, I am wondering how this would be viewed by the Navy.  If I am overseas for a year, I imagine it would be very, VERY difficult to fulfill my required drill time on a monthly basis.  Would the Navy allow me to “front-load” all of my required time over the summer break preceding this period?  Would the Navy grant a waiver from duty in the interest of furthering my education?  Anything else I am maybe not thinking of?

Thanks everyone, and Chag Sameach for the upcoming Shavuot.