An estimated 150,000 Jewish servicemen in the United States armed forces attended Rosh Hashanah services at American bases and overseas ports.
A number of released Jewish war prisoners en route home from Korea observed the Holy Day in Services on the high seas. Special arrangements were made at the San Francisco debarkation port to greet the arrivals there. A Jewish chaplain was flown from Naples, Italy, to Valencia, Spain, to conduct services aboard the aircraft carrier Coral Sea for five hundred men. Friday he conducted services aboard the U.S.S. Roosevelt lying in Barcelona Harbor.
In Korea, 400 Jews serving in the First Marine Division assembled at the division chapel for holiday services. Similar services were held in six other areas for Jews of other units. General McPate, commander of the First Marine Division, sent Rosh Hashanah greetings to Jewish Marines.
In Japan, 700 servicemen celebrated the New Year in services at Tokyo Chapel Center. Services were held at Pacific outposts and at U.S. Army centers in Germany, France, England and Italy.
In New York, HIAS held services for several hundred immigrants at the HIAS Synagogue. Special services were also arranged for Jews detained on Ellis Island.
Throughout the United States, hundreds of congregations joined in holiday appeals for support of the State of Israel Bond Issue. Special tab cards were used to record purchases without necessitating any writing.
A team of notables headed by former Vice President Alben Barkley, Senators Alexander Wiley, Wayne Morse and Governor Theodore McKeldin of Maryland sparked the High Holy Day bond campaign.
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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.
