ISRAEL RECOGNIZES
AMERICAN WWII SOLDIERS
WHO HELPED PROVIDE FREEDOM
FOR THEIR ANCESTORS
In a special ceremony on Veterans Day, November 11, 2005, five Veterans of General Patton's Third Army in WWII were
awarded a medal and certificate of the commendation by the Israeli Government in New York City at the Museum of
Jewish Heritage, a living memorial to the Holocaust. This is the first time any American WWII Veteran has been
awarded a medal of this type by the Israeli Government. The Anniversary medals in remembrance of victory in
Germany have been awarded in the past only to Jewish Fighters against the Nazis.
The medals were awarded to 4 Veterans of the 65th Infantry Division and 1 Veteran of the 71st Division. The
Veterans of the 65th Infantry Division were Ray Callanan (Co. G, 260th), Maynard Hanson (565th Signal Co.),
Lynn LaBarre (Deceased)(Co. A, 265th Eng. Bn.) and Robert Patton (Hq. 2nd Bn. 261st). The Veteran from the
71st Infantry Division was Mickey Dorsey (Calvary Recon Troop).
In early May, 2005, these Veterans retraced the route taken by their Divisions 60 years ago, in WWII. While they were
in the Passau, Germany area they attended the first public Jewish Sabbath service ever held in the history of
the city. This was the early childhood home of Adolph Hitler. In nearby Pocking, Germany, they participated
in the dedication of a new monument at the Children's Cemetery where the deceased children of inmates in the
nearby Concentration Camps were buried. They were also present for the commemoration event at the Shoah Memorial
and Tolerance Event in Passau.
Miriam Griver-Meisels, President of Hadassah Israel, was also present at these ceremonies. Her father,
Rabbi Meisels, had been liberated 60 years ago from one of the concentration camps in the area by units of
the 65th and 71st Infantry Divisions. She was so moved by meeting these American GI's who had returned to
the area 60 years later, that she returned to Israel and asked the Government to honor these soldiers for their
participation in fighting against the Nazis in WWII while commemorating the memory of the Jewish resistance in
the war against the Nazis. Her request was approved by the Israeli Minister of Defense, Shaul Mofaz. As there
was not an Israeli Embassy in New York, Ms. Griver-Meisels delivered the medals personally to the Museum.
The medals and certificates of the commendation were presented to the Veterans on November 11, at the Museum
of Jewish Heritage by Amir Ofek, Consul for Public Affairs from the Israeli Consulate. In attendance at the
ceremony were several surviving inmates of the Concentration Camps in Germany and Austria.
