July, 1918.-An American regiment quartered in the rear of the St. Michel sector was ordered to move up under a withering artillery attack from the enemy.
It was a memorable date for State Commander Julius Klausner Jr., of the Jewish War Veterans, and the regimental chaplain, the Rev. Francis W. Walsh, now pastor of the Church of the Assumption at Peekskill, N. Y.
Commander Klausner fell in the battle. Twenty-six comrades were killed, fifty-two others wounded. But Father Walsh moved through the fire to give solace and aid to boys of all faiths.
A few weeks ago Klausner, who lives in Mount Vernon, stood alongside Father Walsh at the induction of Peekskill Post, Jewish War Veterans, and heard the war chaplain denounce Hitler and the Nazis.
Klausner still limps from his war wounds. The Jewish War Veterans, he says, are now in the midst of another war-this time against racial prejudice and hatred.
As he stood alongside Father Walsh the latter remarked:
“Racial hatred has no place in the American scheme. We Catholics shall be the first ones to fight for your cause and for the cause of understanding, and standing right beside us will be found the Jew.”
Klausner was smiling.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
