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More tears by the Rivers of Babylon
Jewish servicemen killed in Iraq.
By: NATE BLOOM Special to the CJN
We've been at war in Iraq for well over a year now, and news outlets brief us daily, sometimes hourly, on the car bombings, aerial bombings, political maneuverings, and the death toll that are part of that war. Sometimes, with so much information available and so many opinions and options being debated, we become numb to the human cost.
Among American service personnel killed in Iraq since the fighting began, at least 11, according to public record, are Jewish. It is impossible to know exactly how many Jewish soldiers have died in the war, since the Defense Department no longer keeps statistics on the religion of their personnel. Unlike previous war times, dog tags no longer list religion. Moreover, Jewish chaplains observe a policy of strict confidentiality regarding the faith of service personnel and will neither confirm nor deny whether a war casualty is Jewish.
And some "do not want their Jewishness known, lest it cause a very rare problem in their unit or, more seriously, that this fact becomes known to their enemies," explains Cheryl Waldman of the Jewish War Veterans.
Emblematic perhaps of other war casualties, these 11 confirmed Jewish soldiers each had a different story and path that led him to die in the service of his country.
The most recent fatality is Michael Tarlavsky, 30, who was killed Aug. 12 of this year amid the fierce fighting in the Iraqi city of Najaf. Tarlavsky was an army captain with the 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Green Berets), based in Fort Campbell, Ky. He died in a hail of small-arms fire as he led Iraqi police trainees in a fight with insurgents who had blown up a school. This was Tarlavsky's second tour-of-duty in Iraq, having spent five months there in the beginning of 2003. He also fought in Afghanistan.
Born in Latvia, in the former Soviet Union, Tarlavsky and his family first moved to Israel, and then came to the United States when Michael was 5. They eventually made their home in Clifton, N.J. Tarlavsky was an Eagle Scout and captain of the swim team at Clifton High School. In recent years, he was an avid marathon runner.
Tarlavsky always wanted to be a soldier, according to his sister, Elina. He attended Rutgers University on a ROTC scholarship and was later assigned to Korea's DMZ, where among other duties he provided security for Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ("He bragged most about that (assignment)," his sister told the AP.) Tarlavsky married another army captain in 2002 and settled in Tennessee. His wife gave birth to a son earlier this year.
The Newark Star-Ledger reported that Tarlavsky's parents combined Russian and Jewish traditions as they mourned their son: On their coffee table were a photograph of Michael in uniform; a yahrtzeit (memorial) candle; and a shot glass filled to the rim with vodka. Michael's father, Yury, a veteran of the Soviet merchant marine, explained that a shot of vodka is a Russian way of honoring soldiers who have been killed.
Yury Tarlavsky said of his son, "He did his job very good. I'm very proud of my boy for what he did for his country."
Marine Cpl. Mark Asher Evnin, 21, of South Burlington, Vt., died in Iraq on April 3, 2003, of wounds received in action. He was a scout sniper with the 1st Marine Division at 29 Palms, Calif. Evnin is the best known of the Jewish war dead because he was the first Jewish serviceman to die, and he was among the first two dozen casualties of the war.
His story was told in an April 15, 2003, Jewish Telegraph Agency article: "The first known Jewish casualty of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Evnin opened an emotional outpouring from Jews around the world. 'From Israel to New Jersey, people have been calling, writing. It has been incredible,' said Evnin's mother, Mindy Evnin. 'Maybe it's because the war might help Israel,' she said. 'Maybe because my father was a rabbi. I don't know, but it gives me pleasure.'"
Evnin played high-school football and lacrosse and was a cross-country skier. His survivors include his parents, his maternal grandparents, and his paternal grandmother. His traditional Jewish funeral attracted over 1,000 mourners, including Gov. Jim Douglas of Vermont.
Army Spc. Jeffrey M. Wershow, 22, of Gainesville, Fla.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Orlando, Fla.; was shot and killed on July 6, 2003 in Baghdad. Wershow was a member of the Florida Army National Guard.
His life and death were profiled in USA Today. "... Wershow never let his guard down. His buddies nicknamed him 'The General' because he strode about with a sense of purpose and confidence. ....He always stood at attention when addressing officers, when most other soldiers sweltering in the heat here would take a more casual attitude.
"So it was a shock on July 6 when the aspiring politician from Gainesville, Fla., was gunned down on the campus of Baghdad University after buying a 7-Up. If this gung-ho soldier who wanted another stint in Iraq could be killed in such a brazen way in a crowded place, his buddies figured it could happen to them, too. For the men of 'Charlie' Company of the Florida National Guard, Wershow's death occurred when most thought they would already be home.
"Buddies say Wershow was intelligent, tenacious and so gregarious that he'd talk to anyone, anytime. He loved to debate, even going so far as to take a position he opposed just to get a good argument going. 'He called himself a conservative Democrat, but we always teased him that he was a closet Republican,' recalls Glass, the company commander. Wershow enlisted in the Army in 1999 after high school and served three years. When he got out in June 2002, he joined the National Guard. He had been back in Gainesville just six months, taking (college classes), when he was called to active duty ... After several weeks of training, his company arrived in Jordan on Feb. 16. Their mission was to provide security and search-and-rescue support to the special operations forces.
"Wershow's unit became one of the first to enter Iraq as the war began. Under cover of darkness and using night-vision goggles to see, they breached dirt berms on Iraq's borders with Jordan and Saudi Arabia to allow special operations forces to drive through.
"The soldiers were led to believe they would be sent home in mid-May. Instead, (his company) was ordered to Baghdad. Wershow fretted that he would miss the fall semester at college. He talked about following his father, Jon Wershow, a former Alachua County, Fla., commissioner, to law school and then, perhaps, to elected office."
Wershow was guarding a detail of civilian Americans meeting with Iraqi university officials when he left the meeting, after two hours, to get a soft drink. He was fatally shot in the back of the neck by a gunman on the campus. The gunman escaped in the confusion that followed the shooting. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida called Wershow's death "an assassination."
Wershow was buried at his family's farm near Gainesville and awarded a Bronze Star for valor. More than 1,000 mourners, including many high-ranking officers, attended a memorial in the Oak Hall School gymnasium. Wershow's survivors include his father and mother, a stepmother and a stepfather, and a younger brother.
David Bernstein, 24, formerly of Phoenixville, Pa., a first lieutenant with the Army's 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade, was killed on Oct., 16, 2003, in Iraq, when enemy forces ambushed his patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. According to the local Phoenixville paper, the 173rd is famous for its quick reactions, most often carried out by parachuting into war zones. Bernstein was dropped into northern Iraq at the beginning of the war and had remained there since, according to his father, Richard Bernstein.
His father told the paper, "He felt very indebted to this country for what it has done for him and for everyone. He wanted to serve his country, and he did."
David Bernstein was the 1997 valedictorian of his high school. He graduated fifth in his class from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point four years later. His funeral was held at the Jewish chapel at West Point. Survivors include his parents, a brother, and sister.
There was a little joke in the Bernstein family that the first- through fourth-ranking cadets got an award at graduation, but there was no award for the cadet ranking fifth in his class. Therefore, as a perpetual tribute to David, his family has established the 1st Lt. David R. Bernstein Memorial Award to be given to those in each graduating class of West Point who achieve the fifth-highest class standing. The award has Academy approval, and donations may be made through: www-secure.west-point.org/drb/memorial/donate
Army Pfc. Jacob S. Fletcher, 26, of Bay Shore, N.Y., was killed in Iraq on Nov. 13, 2003. He was with Company C, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. Fletcher was killed when a bus he was riding in was hit by an explosive device. He was a 1994 graduate of Babylon High School and was inspired to join the military following the death of a friend in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
His father, Marlowe Fletcher, told Newsday, "Whether people believe in the war or not, you have to believe in our soldiers. This was an American soldier, airborne. He was my beloved son, and he was a hero."
Army Spc. Marc S. Seiden, 26, of Brigantine, N.J., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 3, 2004, when his convoy was ambushed by the enemy who used an improvised explosive device, small arms fire, and a rocket-propelled grenade. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne. His mother told the Fayetteville, North Carolina Observer that Seiden was "a daredevil since childhood" which led him to join the airborne. "I always had to have 25 eyes on him."
Marc Seiden was a New York Mets fan and played soccer in high school. He joined the Army in April 2002. His mother, Gail Seiden, said that Marc joined the Army in part because of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. "He joined because he felt he had a duty. I didn't understand it when he did it. I was angry at him because I knew what could possibly happen. But he felt like he could fight for his country, and he wanted to."
Marc called his family twice on New Year's eve and once on New Year's day. He was excited about coming home in February. His brother and sister-in-law were expecting their first child. "Our first grandchild (was going) be born in two weeks, and (Marc) just could not wait," explains his mom. "He was going to be the godfather."
Seiden was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star for valor.
Army Lt. Seth Dvorin, of East Brunswick, N.J., a member of the 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., was killed Feb. 3, 2004, in Iraq. His sister, Rebekah, told the Associated Press that the Army informed her that "Seth's unit had been ordered to clear the area of the homemade mines and bombs that have killed dozens of troops ... they were in a convoy and saw something in the road. My brother, the hero, told his driver to stop. That's when the bomb detonated, when they were trying to dismantle it."
His father, Richard Dvorin, an Air Force veteran and retired New Brunswick police officer, told the AP that his son was a loyal, responsible commander who sought to make life as easy as possible on the soldiers he oversaw. Offered two weeks' leave in December, Seth refused to go because so many of his platoon members had not yet had the chance.
Richard Dvorin, with tears rolling down his face, told the AP, "He was a good human being." Seth's survivors include his father, his sister, and his wife - a college sweetheart he had married a week before he was deployed. Dvorin was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star for valor.
Sgt. Elijah Tai Wah Wong, 42, of Mesa, Ariz., was killed Feb. 9, 2004, in Sinjar, Iraq, when he and other soldiers were trying to move a cache of unexploded rocket-propelled grenades and mortar rounds which had been seized from enemy forces. The cache blew up, killing Wong and another soldier. Wong was with the 363rd Explosive Ordnance Company, Army National Guard, based in Casa Grande, Ariz.
As reported by the Chicago Tribune: Wong himself "was a composite of widely different cultures, a living example of the United States' hodgepodge of infused immigrant experiences, religions and races. His Chinese father, Wong Ning Nam, who was born in 1908, came to the U.S. by ship from Hong Kong. He settled eventually in New York, where he married a Jewish woman, Wong's mother, Olga.."
Wong was born and raised in New York, but moved to Israel as a teenager. He went to an Israeli high school and became a soldier in the Israeli army. He enlisted in the Air Force after returning to the States. Wong also served in the NY Air National Guard and the Air Forces Reserves before enlisting in the Arizona National Guard. He worked as a probation officer for Maricopa County, Arizona, and was the married father of three minor children.
Wong's sister Helga told the Arizona Republic that her brother's work for the probation department was "part of his plan to save the world. He tried to help the former inmates under his supervision work their way back into society. He believed in his country, with all its pros and cons."
Coast Guard Petty Officer Nathan Bruckenthal, 24, was killed on April 25, 2004, along with two Navy sailors, while conducting maritime intercept operations in the North Arabian Gulf. He was guarding an oil platform in the Persian Gulf off the shore of Basra, Iraq, when a cargo ship began approaching. The ship blew up when Bruckenthal and others went out to intercept it.
His funeral was held at Arlington National Cemetery, and he was buried, at his request, in his tallit (prayer shawl). Bruckenthal was given a Bronze Star for valor.
One thousand people attended the memorial service on Long Island a few weeks ago. Attendees included Congressman Steve Israel and Nathan Bruckenthal's pregnant wife.
Marine Cpl. Dustin Schrage, 20, of Indian Harbor, Fla., died in Iraq on May 6, 2004. While his death is still under investigation, it is believed that he drowned while swimming across a river in the Anbar province during a mission. Schrage, who had been in Iraq for a year, was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.
Schrage was born in New York and moved to Florida when he was in elementary school. His mother, Nina, and his three siblings described Dustin to the Florida Today newspaper as a laid-back 20-year-old who enjoyed video games, punk rock, and hanging out with friends and family.
His mother said of him, "He was all about a good time. We always thought he would be a stand-up comic." Her son, she added, had always planned to join a SWAT team after he got out of the Corps, about a year from this summer. But more recently, he told his mother that he wanted a job that didn't require living by an alarm clock. He'd had enough of that in the military.
Marine Sgt. Alan D. Sherman, a reservist serving with B Company of the 6th Engineer Support Battalion, based in Dover, Pa., was killed on June 29, 2004, along with two other soldiers when a bomb exploded near the front of his convoy. This was his unit's reported second tour of duty in Iraq. Sherman, an Ocean Township, N.J., resident, was described at his Jewish funeral "as a Marine with a soft heart." He was the father of two young sons. Despite his divorce, he and his ex-wife remained on good terms, and he frequently saw his sons, Joshua and Logan.
The Jewish War Veterans runs a program to assist Jewish service personnel in Iraq called "Operation SOS." Friends and families writing the JWV send care packages to soldiers who identify themselves as Jewish to the JWV or who are identified. Other supplies are sent to Jewish chaplains for distribution to soldiers. You can contact Operation SOS by writing Jewish War Veterans, 1811 R Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20009. Or visit www.jwv.org. Another good resource is "Jews in Green," for active-duty Jewish service personnel: www.jewsingreen.com.
Nate Bloom is the California-based editor of www.Jewhoo.com.
PHOTOS/ COURTESY CONNECTICUT JEWISH LEDGER
By: NATE BLOOM Special to the CJN
We've been at war in Iraq for well over a year now, and news outlets brief us daily, sometimes hourly, on the car bombings, aerial bombings, political maneuverings, and the death toll that are part of that war. Sometimes, with so much information available and so many opinions and options being debated, we become numb to the human cost.
Among American service personnel killed in Iraq since the fighting began, at least 11, according to public record, are Jewish. It is impossible to know exactly how many Jewish soldiers have died in the war, since the Defense Department no longer keeps statistics on the religion of their personnel. Unlike previous war times, dog tags no longer list religion. Moreover, Jewish chaplains observe a policy of strict confidentiality regarding the faith of service personnel and will neither confirm nor deny whether a war casualty is Jewish.
And some "do not want their Jewishness known, lest it cause a very rare problem in their unit or, more seriously, that this fact becomes known to their enemies," explains Cheryl Waldman of the Jewish War Veterans.
Emblematic perhaps of other war casualties, these 11 confirmed Jewish soldiers each had a different story and path that led him to die in the service of his country.
The most recent fatality is Michael Tarlavsky, 30, who was killed Aug. 12 of this year amid the fierce fighting in the Iraqi city of Najaf. Tarlavsky was an army captain with the 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Green Berets), based in Fort Campbell, Ky. He died in a hail of small-arms fire as he led Iraqi police trainees in a fight with insurgents who had blown up a school. This was Tarlavsky's second tour-of-duty in Iraq, having spent five months there in the beginning of 2003. He also fought in Afghanistan.
Born in Latvia, in the former Soviet Union, Tarlavsky and his family first moved to Israel, and then came to the United States when Michael was 5. They eventually made their home in Clifton, N.J. Tarlavsky was an Eagle Scout and captain of the swim team at Clifton High School. In recent years, he was an avid marathon runner.
Tarlavsky always wanted to be a soldier, according to his sister, Elina. He attended Rutgers University on a ROTC scholarship and was later assigned to Korea's DMZ, where among other duties he provided security for Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ("He bragged most about that (assignment)," his sister told the AP.) Tarlavsky married another army captain in 2002 and settled in Tennessee. His wife gave birth to a son earlier this year.
The Newark Star-Ledger reported that Tarlavsky's parents combined Russian and Jewish traditions as they mourned their son: On their coffee table were a photograph of Michael in uniform; a yahrtzeit (memorial) candle; and a shot glass filled to the rim with vodka. Michael's father, Yury, a veteran of the Soviet merchant marine, explained that a shot of vodka is a Russian way of honoring soldiers who have been killed.
Yury Tarlavsky said of his son, "He did his job very good. I'm very proud of my boy for what he did for his country."
Marine Cpl. Mark Asher Evnin, 21, of South Burlington, Vt., died in Iraq on April 3, 2003, of wounds received in action. He was a scout sniper with the 1st Marine Division at 29 Palms, Calif. Evnin is the best known of the Jewish war dead because he was the first Jewish serviceman to die, and he was among the first two dozen casualties of the war.
His story was told in an April 15, 2003, Jewish Telegraph Agency article: "The first known Jewish casualty of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Evnin opened an emotional outpouring from Jews around the world. 'From Israel to New Jersey, people have been calling, writing. It has been incredible,' said Evnin's mother, Mindy Evnin. 'Maybe it's because the war might help Israel,' she said. 'Maybe because my father was a rabbi. I don't know, but it gives me pleasure.'"
Evnin played high-school football and lacrosse and was a cross-country skier. His survivors include his parents, his maternal grandparents, and his paternal grandmother. His traditional Jewish funeral attracted over 1,000 mourners, including Gov. Jim Douglas of Vermont.
Army Spc. Jeffrey M. Wershow, 22, of Gainesville, Fla.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Orlando, Fla.; was shot and killed on July 6, 2003 in Baghdad. Wershow was a member of the Florida Army National Guard.
His life and death were profiled in USA Today. "... Wershow never let his guard down. His buddies nicknamed him 'The General' because he strode about with a sense of purpose and confidence. ....He always stood at attention when addressing officers, when most other soldiers sweltering in the heat here would take a more casual attitude.
"So it was a shock on July 6 when the aspiring politician from Gainesville, Fla., was gunned down on the campus of Baghdad University after buying a 7-Up. If this gung-ho soldier who wanted another stint in Iraq could be killed in such a brazen way in a crowded place, his buddies figured it could happen to them, too. For the men of 'Charlie' Company of the Florida National Guard, Wershow's death occurred when most thought they would already be home.
"Buddies say Wershow was intelligent, tenacious and so gregarious that he'd talk to anyone, anytime. He loved to debate, even going so far as to take a position he opposed just to get a good argument going. 'He called himself a conservative Democrat, but we always teased him that he was a closet Republican,' recalls Glass, the company commander. Wershow enlisted in the Army in 1999 after high school and served three years. When he got out in June 2002, he joined the National Guard. He had been back in Gainesville just six months, taking (college classes), when he was called to active duty ... After several weeks of training, his company arrived in Jordan on Feb. 16. Their mission was to provide security and search-and-rescue support to the special operations forces.
"Wershow's unit became one of the first to enter Iraq as the war began. Under cover of darkness and using night-vision goggles to see, they breached dirt berms on Iraq's borders with Jordan and Saudi Arabia to allow special operations forces to drive through.
"The soldiers were led to believe they would be sent home in mid-May. Instead, (his company) was ordered to Baghdad. Wershow fretted that he would miss the fall semester at college. He talked about following his father, Jon Wershow, a former Alachua County, Fla., commissioner, to law school and then, perhaps, to elected office."
Wershow was guarding a detail of civilian Americans meeting with Iraqi university officials when he left the meeting, after two hours, to get a soft drink. He was fatally shot in the back of the neck by a gunman on the campus. The gunman escaped in the confusion that followed the shooting. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida called Wershow's death "an assassination."
Wershow was buried at his family's farm near Gainesville and awarded a Bronze Star for valor. More than 1,000 mourners, including many high-ranking officers, attended a memorial in the Oak Hall School gymnasium. Wershow's survivors include his father and mother, a stepmother and a stepfather, and a younger brother.
David Bernstein, 24, formerly of Phoenixville, Pa., a first lieutenant with the Army's 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade, was killed on Oct., 16, 2003, in Iraq, when enemy forces ambushed his patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. According to the local Phoenixville paper, the 173rd is famous for its quick reactions, most often carried out by parachuting into war zones. Bernstein was dropped into northern Iraq at the beginning of the war and had remained there since, according to his father, Richard Bernstein.
His father told the paper, "He felt very indebted to this country for what it has done for him and for everyone. He wanted to serve his country, and he did."
David Bernstein was the 1997 valedictorian of his high school. He graduated fifth in his class from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point four years later. His funeral was held at the Jewish chapel at West Point. Survivors include his parents, a brother, and sister.
There was a little joke in the Bernstein family that the first- through fourth-ranking cadets got an award at graduation, but there was no award for the cadet ranking fifth in his class. Therefore, as a perpetual tribute to David, his family has established the 1st Lt. David R. Bernstein Memorial Award to be given to those in each graduating class of West Point who achieve the fifth-highest class standing. The award has Academy approval, and donations may be made through: www-secure.west-point.org/drb/memorial/donate
Army Pfc. Jacob S. Fletcher, 26, of Bay Shore, N.Y., was killed in Iraq on Nov. 13, 2003. He was with Company C, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. Fletcher was killed when a bus he was riding in was hit by an explosive device. He was a 1994 graduate of Babylon High School and was inspired to join the military following the death of a friend in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
His father, Marlowe Fletcher, told Newsday, "Whether people believe in the war or not, you have to believe in our soldiers. This was an American soldier, airborne. He was my beloved son, and he was a hero."
Army Spc. Marc S. Seiden, 26, of Brigantine, N.J., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 3, 2004, when his convoy was ambushed by the enemy who used an improvised explosive device, small arms fire, and a rocket-propelled grenade. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne. His mother told the Fayetteville, North Carolina Observer that Seiden was "a daredevil since childhood" which led him to join the airborne. "I always had to have 25 eyes on him."
Marc Seiden was a New York Mets fan and played soccer in high school. He joined the Army in April 2002. His mother, Gail Seiden, said that Marc joined the Army in part because of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. "He joined because he felt he had a duty. I didn't understand it when he did it. I was angry at him because I knew what could possibly happen. But he felt like he could fight for his country, and he wanted to."
Marc called his family twice on New Year's eve and once on New Year's day. He was excited about coming home in February. His brother and sister-in-law were expecting their first child. "Our first grandchild (was going) be born in two weeks, and (Marc) just could not wait," explains his mom. "He was going to be the godfather."
Seiden was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star for valor.
Army Lt. Seth Dvorin, of East Brunswick, N.J., a member of the 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., was killed Feb. 3, 2004, in Iraq. His sister, Rebekah, told the Associated Press that the Army informed her that "Seth's unit had been ordered to clear the area of the homemade mines and bombs that have killed dozens of troops ... they were in a convoy and saw something in the road. My brother, the hero, told his driver to stop. That's when the bomb detonated, when they were trying to dismantle it."
His father, Richard Dvorin, an Air Force veteran and retired New Brunswick police officer, told the AP that his son was a loyal, responsible commander who sought to make life as easy as possible on the soldiers he oversaw. Offered two weeks' leave in December, Seth refused to go because so many of his platoon members had not yet had the chance.
Richard Dvorin, with tears rolling down his face, told the AP, "He was a good human being." Seth's survivors include his father, his sister, and his wife - a college sweetheart he had married a week before he was deployed. Dvorin was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star for valor.
Sgt. Elijah Tai Wah Wong, 42, of Mesa, Ariz., was killed Feb. 9, 2004, in Sinjar, Iraq, when he and other soldiers were trying to move a cache of unexploded rocket-propelled grenades and mortar rounds which had been seized from enemy forces. The cache blew up, killing Wong and another soldier. Wong was with the 363rd Explosive Ordnance Company, Army National Guard, based in Casa Grande, Ariz.
As reported by the Chicago Tribune: Wong himself "was a composite of widely different cultures, a living example of the United States' hodgepodge of infused immigrant experiences, religions and races. His Chinese father, Wong Ning Nam, who was born in 1908, came to the U.S. by ship from Hong Kong. He settled eventually in New York, where he married a Jewish woman, Wong's mother, Olga.."
Wong was born and raised in New York, but moved to Israel as a teenager. He went to an Israeli high school and became a soldier in the Israeli army. He enlisted in the Air Force after returning to the States. Wong also served in the NY Air National Guard and the Air Forces Reserves before enlisting in the Arizona National Guard. He worked as a probation officer for Maricopa County, Arizona, and was the married father of three minor children.
Wong's sister Helga told the Arizona Republic that her brother's work for the probation department was "part of his plan to save the world. He tried to help the former inmates under his supervision work their way back into society. He believed in his country, with all its pros and cons."
Coast Guard Petty Officer Nathan Bruckenthal, 24, was killed on April 25, 2004, along with two Navy sailors, while conducting maritime intercept operations in the North Arabian Gulf. He was guarding an oil platform in the Persian Gulf off the shore of Basra, Iraq, when a cargo ship began approaching. The ship blew up when Bruckenthal and others went out to intercept it.
His funeral was held at Arlington National Cemetery, and he was buried, at his request, in his tallit (prayer shawl). Bruckenthal was given a Bronze Star for valor.
One thousand people attended the memorial service on Long Island a few weeks ago. Attendees included Congressman Steve Israel and Nathan Bruckenthal's pregnant wife.
Marine Cpl. Dustin Schrage, 20, of Indian Harbor, Fla., died in Iraq on May 6, 2004. While his death is still under investigation, it is believed that he drowned while swimming across a river in the Anbar province during a mission. Schrage, who had been in Iraq for a year, was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.
Schrage was born in New York and moved to Florida when he was in elementary school. His mother, Nina, and his three siblings described Dustin to the Florida Today newspaper as a laid-back 20-year-old who enjoyed video games, punk rock, and hanging out with friends and family.
His mother said of him, "He was all about a good time. We always thought he would be a stand-up comic." Her son, she added, had always planned to join a SWAT team after he got out of the Corps, about a year from this summer. But more recently, he told his mother that he wanted a job that didn't require living by an alarm clock. He'd had enough of that in the military.
Marine Sgt. Alan D. Sherman, a reservist serving with B Company of the 6th Engineer Support Battalion, based in Dover, Pa., was killed on June 29, 2004, along with two other soldiers when a bomb exploded near the front of his convoy. This was his unit's reported second tour of duty in Iraq. Sherman, an Ocean Township, N.J., resident, was described at his Jewish funeral "as a Marine with a soft heart." He was the father of two young sons. Despite his divorce, he and his ex-wife remained on good terms, and he frequently saw his sons, Joshua and Logan.
The Jewish War Veterans runs a program to assist Jewish service personnel in Iraq called "Operation SOS." Friends and families writing the JWV send care packages to soldiers who identify themselves as Jewish to the JWV or who are identified. Other supplies are sent to Jewish chaplains for distribution to soldiers. You can contact Operation SOS by writing Jewish War Veterans, 1811 R Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20009. Or visit www.jwv.org. Another good resource is "Jews in Green," for active-duty Jewish service personnel: www.jewsingreen.com.
Nate Bloom is the California-based editor of www.Jewhoo.com.
PHOTOS/ COURTESY CONNECTICUT JEWISH LEDGER
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