Two Jewish World War I veterans paid the ultimate price for their country and were buried in the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery – beneath Latin Crosses. Just before Passover, this over century-long mistake has finally been set right.
Private David Moser, born September 7, 1898, in Suffern, NY, enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 to fight for his country and was deployed to France a year later, where he fought in numerous battles. Despite surviving the catastrophic European theater in what was then known as the war to end all wars, he succumbed to the Spanish flu in Germany during the armistice on March 1, 1919, at the age of 20.
When Moser’s father was informed that his son had died, he suffered a stroke and never spoke again. He was initially buried in Germany before being relocated to Arlington National Cemetery on September 25, 1920, at his family’s request. His gravestone was emblazoned with an image of a cross, despite the fact that he was Jewish.
FALLEN JEWISH AMERICAN WORLD WAR II SOLDIERS, POWS FINALLY TO BE BURIED UNDER STAR OF DAVID
Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz speaking at Arlington National Cemetery. (Vera Mandel via Shield Communications)
Adolph Hanf was a Jewish immigrant to the United States from Poland, arriving in Texas at the age of 27. He joined the army and was shipped out to Europe in 1918, just a year after he became a fully naturalized U.S. citizen. Hanf was killed during The Battle of Fismes. His remains were eventually buried at Arlington, but despite protestations from his family his gravestone was marked with a cross. Hanf has no living relatives.
Operation Benjamin, an organization dedicated to “preserving the memories of American-Jewish servicemen and women” and over 100 attendees – including New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and other DC officials – flocked to Arlington in 40-degree weather April 7 to finally correct the historic mistake that befell these two American patriots.
“My baby uncle and Adolph gave their lives. They loved this country, they went to defend it, and they gave their lives for it. It’s time that we all do that as well,” Moser’s 102-year-old niece Dr. Deborah Eiferman said.
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Soldier pays respects at Arlington National Cemetery. (Vera Mandel via Shield Communications)
Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla., announced she is introducing the Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act which will dedicate federal funds to amending the gravestones of the estimated 600 US servicemembers who were mistakenly buried beneath Latin Crosses.
“I’m a proud Jew every day, but particularly today. We are a people who have faced attempted annihilation and erasure for a millennia, including, unfortunately, in our hollowed institutions.” Wasserman-Schultz said at the unveiling.
“There is something especially poignant about standing here just days before Passover, the Jewish holiday of liberation and redemption and in a profound sense we are engaged in a form of redemption… As we approach Passover we are redeeming ourselves by liberating the memory of these Jewish American heroes from the enslavement of an engraved error,” Rep. Torres, D-N.Y., said.
Rep. Ritchie Torres and VA Secretary Doug Collins were present for the ceremony. (Vera Mandel via Shield Communications)
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When the two new gravestones were unveiled with the Stars of David, the assembled recited the Mourners Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, at their gravesides for the first time ever. And now, when a generation of Jewish people feel the all-too-familiar pressure to hide their identities out of fear, these two Jewish patriots now have monuments that proudly show their faith and the sacrifice they made for their country.
