Letters to the editor 11/27/2009

Issue of November 27, 2009/ 10 Cheshvan 5770

The Jewish Lieutenant

To the Editor:

I read with interest your article “Back from Iraq, HANC alum returns” (October 30, 2009), but it implies that Private Salzbank and David Lazar are the only HANC alumni that are in the military. This is not correct. My son, 1st Lt. Howard Hershey (1st Cavalry Division, currently stationed at Fort Hood) graduated HANC in June 2003. After graduating from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, he joined the army and went though basic training and then Office Candidate School. He also has completed a tour of duty in Iraq. It is quite difficult, if not impossible, to remain observant in the US army, but he taught soldiers Hebrew while at Officer Candidate School on Sundays at Fort Benning in Georgia. Jewish services were conducted Sunday morning there and attendance was about 150 soldiers, although very few were actually Jewish. He is known by most soldiers to be the Jewish Lieutenant, the only Jewish lieutenant in his battalion. I just want to set the record straight.

Dennis Hershey

Brooklyn