Jewish veterans of honor: Horrors of WWII spurred decades of Jewish communal service

Next up in our series profiling soldiers named on JNF's Wall of Honor at Ammunition Hill, Judy Levin remembers her dad, who left a lasting mark on the Jewish community of Columbus, Ohio, and beyond. 

My father's name is Ben M. Mandelkorn. He was born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1914 to Russian immigrant parents. He worked his way through Rutgers University and the University of North Carolina Graduate School of Social Work.

Upon completing his education, my father enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II, attaining the rank of captain. He attended the Army Officer Candidate School and commanded a mobile military hospital, a forerunner of the MASH units of today. He was stationed in North Africa, Marseille, and Germany. After the Battle of the Bulge, he went with the generals to liberate the concentration camps. It was then that he decided to devote his life to his fellow Jews.

Jewish veterans of honor: From WWII army medic to trial attorney, she always had a sense of humor

Dinah M. Selvin worked as an army 
medic during WWII. 

This story in our series profiling soldiers named on JNF's Wall of Honor at Ammunition Hill recalls a woman who dedicated her life to public service. 

Dinah M. Selvin wore many hats during her 90 years, among them first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, physical therapist, public defender, and supporter of Jewish National Fund. 

Her executor, Norman Friedman, who worked with Dinah and was her close personal friend for 40 years, said Dinah should be remembered for a lifetime of public service. 

Born in 1920, Dinah was raised in Springfield, Mass., by parents Ira and Ida, who immigrated from Russia and believed strongly in education. Dinah graduated from Smith College. Dinah’s late sister, Dr. Beatrice L. Selvin, was an anesthesiologist and University of Maryland medical school professor.

During her army service, Dinah went overseas to England and served in a medical clinic there, helping wounded soldiers. After the war, she returned to the U.S., where she worked as a physical therapist. 

Jewish veterans of honor: Bronze Star WWII flyer hatched creative scheme to sell war bonds

Charles Blumenfeld (left) poses with a bomb labeled Harry Bunderoff, 

the name of a cousin who purchased a war bond. 

We continue our series profiling the soldiers named on JNF's Wall of Honor at Ammunition Hill with Charles Blumenfeld. Plaques on the wall pay tribute to Jewish military veterans worldwide who have served their countries.

Before the U.S. entered World War II, Charles "Red" Blumenfeld heard rumors of the horrors Jews were facing in Europe. This spurred the American to enlist in the Canadian Royal Air Force, and he graduated flight school with honors. Once the U.S. entered the war, Blumenfeld flew for the U.S. Air Force, 42 missions, returning home with his entire crew and going on to win military honors including the Bronze Star.  

"Dad was one of many true patriots, and a hero," says his son Alan Blumenfeld, shown in the photo below dedicating a plaque at Ammunition Hill in his father's memory in 2011.

Jewish veterans of honor: West Point, WWII and a desk at the Pentagon

Irving Schoenberg in 1960 at his desk in the Pentagon. He served as executive assistant to undersecretary of the Air Force, after which he was awarded the Legion of Merit.

Next up in our series profiling the soldiers named on JNF's Wall of Honor at Ammunition Hill is a proud military veteran and Jewish National Fund donor who just turned 90. 

Irving Schoenberg grew up in St. Joseph, Missouri, born into a family with a strong love for the Jewish people and Israel. He had an interest in going to the military throughout high school, even participating in a cadet program during his formative years. He graduated Central High School in 1943, in the middle of World War II, so he knew he was going straight to the army ("everyone old enough to walk was going to the military," he says). 

Jewish veterans of honor: 'Regular guy from the Bronx' whose unit liberated a concentration camp

Lester Mintz, in his U.S. Army days.

Next up in our series on soldiers honored at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem, Estelle Mintz remembers her husband Lester. JNF's Wall of Honor pays tribute to the courage and heroism of Jewish soldiers worldwide who have fought in defense of their countries in numbers disproportionately high considering their representation in the general population.

By Estelle Mintz

Lester was a sweet, friendly, funny, and sometimes silly and corny, regular guy from the Bronx. He was drafted into the army when he was only 18 years old and it was the first time he had ever traveled. That army time was the experience of his lifetime. He was eternally fascinated with everything World War II-related.

His unit (the 104th Infantry Division, or Timberwolves) liberated the Nordhausen concentration camp in Germany on April 12, 1945. He almost never spoke of it.

Jewish veterans of honor: Top doctor modeled U.S. medical care for nations devastated by war

Dr. Edward Diamond (left, pictured in Jerusalem 
in 1968), felt a strong connection to Israel. 

This is the third story in our series about the soldiers named on JNF's Wall of Honor, which pays tribute to Jewish military veterans worldwide. Today, on Veterans Day, we remember the late Dr. Edward Diamond, a leading American obstetrician and gynecologist with a strong connection to Israel. 

Dr. Edward Diamond, who served as a captain in the the U.S. Army and was discharged as a major, entered the army after the Korean War, when compulsory military service was on its way out. Some of his major achievements included perfecting microsurgical techniques in reproductive medicine and developing patented surgical tools and techniques still in use today.

Diamond, who served in the army from 1955-1958, chose to enlist both out of a conviction for serving his country and a desire to improve medical services for the army, particularly ob-gyn care for enlisted women or wives of enlisted men. Having recently finished his ob-gyn residency, he viewed serving as both a challenge and an opportunity to enlarge the scope of his medical experience.

Jewish veterans of honor: Rebbe's lawyer owes his life to pork chops

Jerome Shestack and his little sister Louise Dabrow.

This is the second in our series telling the stories behind the names on JNF's Wall of Honor at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem. Plaques on the wall pay tribute to Jewish military veterans worldwide who have served their countries.

Jerome Shestack, born in 1923, was a Philadelphia lawyer and human-rights activist. Shestack served in the United States Navy as a first lieutenant from 1943-1946.

"I could not have found a more appropriate place to honor him," his sister Louise Dabrow said of dedicating a plaque at the Wall of Honor at Ammunition Hill in Shestack’s memory. "He served his country and he would have been so proud to be remembered at Ammunition Hill, a place that pays tribute to all who fought for their countries."

Before he left to serve in the navy, Shestack, a grandson of rabbis, asked his own rabbi how he could keep kosher while at sea. The rabbi told him he had to eat whatever he was given to keep up his strength as he was serving his country. One day, while on the American aircraft carrier Ticonderoga, the mess hall served pork chops. Shestack couldn't bring himself to eat them, so he skipped the meal and stayed on the upper deck. The ship was bombed that day, and 75 officers who were in the mess hall died.

Jewish veterans of honor: Balloon sniper on the frozen tundra

Russell Robinson, CEO of Jewish National Fund, stands beside the plaque honoring his father Richard
at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem. 

At Ammunition Hill, site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Six Day War and today a historical preservation and memorial site, visitors will see a wall of plaques. It's Jewish National Fund's Wall of Honor, which pays tribute to the courage and heroism of Jewish soldiers worldwide who have fought in defense of their countries in numbers disproportionately high considering their representation in the general population. Throughout November, in honor of Veterans Day, we'll share stories of the soldiers honored on these plaques in Jerusalem. We start with Richard Robinson, father of JNF CEO Russell Robinson.


By Russell Robinson

My father, Richard Robinson, had a heart as big as the state of Texas, yet he was tough, worked hard all of his life, provided for his family, and gave generously of himself whenever he was needed or asked.

Richard Robinson with his wife, Ruth. 

My family traces its heritage back to one of the first Jewish settlers of Virginia, with military roots -- my great-grandfather fought in the Civil War and my grandfather, in World War I. When my father was young, the family moved to Canada to start a line of haberdashery stores, but my grandfather had always retained his American citizenship and once a year would bring his family back to the United States just so no one would ever question that they were American citizens.

When World War II broke, my father was attending McGill University in Montreal. He also happened to be playing professional football for the Montreal Aquenots! But witnessing the horrors of World War II, and hearing the stories of our Jewish people, he felt impassioned to defend democracy and join the army in some way. The United States was not entering the war at the time, but Canada was. So he enlisted and became a member of the Canadian Royal Air Force.