Published: Five American Jewish Soldiers Buried Under Star of David in Manila

I published “Five American Jewish Soldiers Buried Under Star of David in Manila” on @Medium https://ift.tt/3f4m9ZP

What Is Operation Benjamin?

After graduating from Yeshiva Universit, Shalom Lamm spent several years working in the real estate industry. Over the years, he oversaw the acquisition, restoration, and development of almost 10,000 apartments. Outside of his professional responsibilities, Shalom Lamm is one of the leaders of Operation Benjamin, a project that aims to put Star of David on graves of Jewish American soldiers who died during World War II.

The seed of Operation Benjamin was planted in 2014 when Rabbi JJ Schacter visited the cemetery where the U.S. soldiers died during D-Day was buried. He concluded that there were too few graves marked with Star of David. Several weeks later, Shacter talked to Mr. Lamm, who calculated that there should be around 270 Jewish soldiers at the cemetery. However, only 149 graves were properly marked.

The two started researching all buried soldiers who could have possibly been Jewish. The first grave to receive a gravestone with Star of David was that of Private First Class Benjamin Barney Garadetsky from the 66th Regiment of the 2nd Armored Division.

The project was initially named Normandy Heritage Project, as it was focused on the grave in Normandy. However, the initiative widened in scope over time to encompass various other American Military cemeteries around the world. Finally, in 2016, the project was renamed Operation Benjamin after Benjamin Garadetsky.

Published: Manila American Cemetery Replaces Markers for Jewish-American Soldiers

I published “Manila American Cemetery Replaces Markers for Jewish-American Soldiers” on @Medium https://ift.tt/3emYFik

Operation Benjamin Gives Proper Burial Markers to WWII Soldiers

A New York real estate executive with holdings across several states, Shalom Lamm rehabilitates and repositions homes with significant upside potential. A strong community advocate, Shalom Lamm founded Operation Benjamin, a nonprofit that helps Jewish World War II soldiers buried under Christian crosses receive Star of David headstones.

The impetus of this mission was a visit by Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter to the Normandy American Cemetery on the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014. Moved by seeing graves of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for freedom, the rabbi was surprised to see that only a few graves had Star of David headstones.

This led Mr. Lamm to research the matter and discover that, while 2.7 percent of the soldiers who fought for America in World War II were Jewish, only 1.5 percent of the graves in Normandy were marked with a Star of David. A database-enabled search discovered that many fallen Jewish soldiers were buried under the wrong headstone.

Operation Benjamin has evolved into an expanded global mission. Through its efforts, 11 soldiers have had marker changes approved by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Published: WWII Jewish-American Soldiers Finally Buried under Star of David

I published “WWII Jewish-American Soldiers Finally Buried under Star of David” on @Medium https://ift.tt/2xiCLvE