Rabbi Roland Gittelsohn was a chaplain in the Second World War. In his memoir, he details how, when asked to deliver the memorial remarks for fallen Marines at Iwo Jima, several Protestant and Catholic chaplains loudly protested a Jewish voice speaking over the graves of Christian soldiers.
Dismayed and heartsick but refusing to be discouraged, Rabbi Gittelsohn instead offered his memorial remarks to a small group in the Jewish section of the cemetery. He shared these words:
"We dedicate ourselves, first, to live together in peace the way they fought and are buried in war. Here lie men who loved America because their ancestors generations ago helped in her founding, and other men who loved her with equal passion because they themselves or their own fathers escaped from oppression to her blessed shores. . . . Here, no man prefers another because of his faith or despises him because of his color. Here, there are no quotas of how many from each group are admitted or allowed. Among these men, there is no discrimination. No prejudices. No hatred. Theirs is the highest and purest democracy. Any man among us, the living, who fails to understand that will thereby betray those who lie here dead. Whoever of us lifts his hand in hate against a brother, or thinks himself too superior to those who happen to be in the minority, makes this ceremony and the bloody sacrifice it commemorates, an empty, hollow mockery. To this, then, as our solemn, sacred duty, do we the living now dedicate ourselves”1
His words inspire us nearly 80 years later on this weekend of remembrance. We honor those who have given their lives throughout the history of our great nation – those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect us from harm.
On this Memorial Day, let us remember those who gave their lives in the service of democracy and rededicate ourselves to fulfilling the vision upon which this nation was founded.
Shabbat shalom, Sarah
1 Rabbi Gittlesohn’s memoir, From Pacifist to Padre is available free of charge in a digital format.
