USMA IN THE NEWS
As the sun set marking the beginning of the Sabbath, West Point Rabbi Carlos Huerta led a group of cadets and Wayne veterans in prayer, his voice echoing against the high stone walls of the military academy's Jewish chapel.
His appearance underscored the two traditions that brought the group together: A yarmulke covered his closely cropped hair and his black Army boots were visible from under his tallit, the Jewish prayer shawl.
The Kaufman-Harris-Wayne Post 695 of the Jewish War Veterans was making its annual visit to West Point to observe Friday night services, and provide food for the Oneg Shabbat, or Sabbath delights.
But this year - only hours before the veterans arrived - Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld had testified in front of Congress, apologizing for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. It was a story that dominated much of the conversation, weighing heavily on both the cadets and veterans.
During an impassioned sermon, Huerta spoke of each individual's moral and ethical obligation to their group as it relates to the prisoner-abuse story.
"If we mess up, as we see by today's events, it affects more than just the individual," Huerta told the congregation. "What shocks us about this incident is not that the soldiers did something bad, but that it reflects on us as Americans."
After the service, as the cadets and veterans sat down for the meal, Maj. Elizabeth Robbins - an instructor - said she discussed the prisoner-abuse story with her classes.
"Obviously, what happened has huge implications on our effectiveness in Iraq, " she said. Those implications are a serious concern for a class that, for the first time since the Vietnam War, know where they're likely to be deployed after graduation.
Megan Williams, a cadet from San Antonio, Texas, said she expects to spend at least a year in Iraq, and worries that the pictures of prisoner abuse will sway moderate Iraqis toward a more extreme position. "I'm sure it will," she said. "How can it not?"
But the news did not distract the cadets from showing their appreciation to the veterans. "Thank you for not only your service to the country on the warfront and the home front," Williams said at the end of the service, "but for your service to the cadets."
The 10 veterans represented a wide range of service. For example, there was George Rosen, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and Ralph Zabitz, who traveled all over the globe with the Army Air Corps during World War II. Then there was Al Bogart, who counts Jimmy Carter among his students when he taught at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1945.
The chapel had special significance for Larry Nessman, the founding post commander in Wayne who helped raise funds to build the house of worship. His name appears on a list of patrons near the entrance. And the post is helping to raise money for the construction of a Jewish chapel at the Naval Academy.
Joining the vets on their trip was Jesse Finamore, a 12-year-old Wayne resident who already is planning to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. An avid history buff with an intense interest in World War II aviation, he plans to donate a portion of the monetary gifts from his bar mitzvah in a few weeks to the Wayne vets.
"They protected our country," he said of the Jewish war veterans. "Without them, we'd all be speaking German right now, we'd be worshipping a man with small mustache, and I would be dead."
Williams said she and her peers feel a connection with the veterans.
"You always want to have the approval of your predecessors. It's important to remember those who have gone before you," she said.
And Huerta said the veterans' visits mean a lot to the cadets.
"It's the life blood for them. They're following the tradition of service to the nation," he said after the service. "It's the next generation saying, 'Can do, sir.'-"
Post 695 was founded in 1981, and its members have visited West Point cadets for the last 15 years. There are about 10,000 Jewish veterans living in New Jersey, said State Commander George Cirkus, a Clifton resident who also attended the service. About half of them are members of Jewish War Veterans posts, he said.
At the end of the service, Jewish War Veterans ladies auxiliary president Maxine Berger and Post Commander Ed Glasspool addressed the cadets.
"Wayne is a very historic town," Glasspool said, referring to the Dey Mansion, which served as George Washington's headquarters during part of the Revolutionary War.
"He slept here, he slept there. Let's face it, the man got enough sleep," he joked. "The next time you might doze off in a lecture that is boring and you're admonished, remind your instructor of George Washington's secret to success: he got enough sleep."
Bogart said he was happy to give the cadets a good meal, and as a graduate and former teacher at the Naval Academy, he could appreciate what they were going through.
"Physically, mentally, they're going through a lot," he said.
Kyle Greenberg, a junior cadet, had no argument with that.
"People who are retired remember the things that they like," he said of the veterans. "I think when I retire I'll probably say that I enjoyed my time here, but I wouldn't admit that now. This week I got 15 hours of sleep in five days."
Bagels and a schmear
Post 695's West Point menu:
6 dozen bagels
6 pounds of lox
5 pounds of egg salad
5 pounds of tuna fish
1 large deli rye bread
2 pounds of creamed herring
4 pounds of tomatoes
4 large Vidalia onions
1 jar of olives
4 containers of cream cheese
2 containers of butter
3 half-gallon containers of milk
12 two-liter bottles of soda
8 pounds of fruit salad