Ocean Grove. Nov. 8, 2019 by Paul Goldfinger ©

By Paul Goldfinger, MD.  JWV Post 125.

Today I  joined a group of veterans from the Jersey Shore Post 125, Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America. We were set up in the lobby of the fabulous new ShopRite in Shrewsbury,  giving out red paper poppies. Most people gave a dollar or two, and some gave larger bills, dropping them into a pail on the table. And a few gave nothing, but they had to be with us and they gently took a poppy too.

I was touched by all those who stopped by our display. Many said, “Thank you for your service,” and they took a poppy while looking into our eyes.   Others said, “This is for my Dad” or “This is for my husband.” And many had glistening in their eyes.

Small children came by for a poppy as the parents watched.  A child of about 7  walked over and saluted us.  The vets saluted him back, and he was thrilled.

A teen age boy stood to the side and stared at us.  I motioned him to come over for a poppy, and he did. He said that he was a member of Junior ROTC, and he was so respectful to us.  And we thanked him for his interest and warm concern.

A young African-American woman walked over and said, “All I have is a dollar, and that’s a lot for me, but I have to donate it.”

I told her ” A dollar is terrific.  We love dollars.” She smiled and took her poppy.

A ShopRite pharmacist stopped at our table while rummaging through her purse.  “I’m so embarrassed,” she said. “I had a five here and it’s gone, but I’ll be back.”

So one of our guys gave her a poppy, and sure enough, an hour later, she returned with a five.

An older man, my age perhaps, rode up to me in his motorized shopping vehicle.  He wanted to talk about his time in the Navy.  He was on a fighting ship, one of the first to reach Vietnamese waters.

Only one person asked what the contributions were used for, and one of the senior JWV vets explained how the money is used to help veterans such as those who live in veteran homes and hospitals in NJ.   The giving is non-denominational, and some of the recipients served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

ShopRite was in the spirit of the holiday,  playing patriotic music overhead all day.

Personally, I was a Navy doctor during Vietnam, but I spent two years in a 1,400 bed Navy  hospital in Virginia providing cardiology care to vets and active duty personnel.  In addition we were teachers to young physicians who would make a career in the Medical Corps.

So my life was never endangered, but today I felt like a representative of all those who served and even died,  especially for my medical school classmate John Saunders who got caught up in the “doctor draft” and was sent to Nam, only to be killed while riding in an ambulance to help villagers in need.  He died after only about 18 months as a physician.

Some say that Americans are not patriotic these days because of political rhetoric, but today, at that ShopRite, I saw something much the opposite.

Post 125 JWV will be offering poppies at the ShopRites in West Long Branch and Shrewsbury, New Jersey for Veterans Day, 2019.

It was a privilege joining fellow Jewish veterans in a salute to the military.

Blogfinger @verizon.net.   Paul Goldfinger.

ShopRite in Shrewsbury. Post 125 JWV set up in the lobby. I am on the left. Eileen took the photo. 11/7/19.

RUTGERS WIND ENSEMBLE  “Air For Band.”