On this Veterans Day, I recall with pride having been a Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. I served on active duty for four years, beginning six months after graduating from law school. It was at the time of the expansion of the U.S. combat role in Vietnam and increasing armed hostilities in Korea. I was sent to Korea and halfway through my deployment in January 1968, North Korean gunboats closed on the USS Pueblo in international waters, capturing the ship after a firefight and taking her surviving 82-member crew prisoner. The crew was tortured in captivity and not released until eleven months later. I had been assigned to the Korea Military Advisory Group at Eighth Army headquarters in Seoul, which assisted the State Department in securing the return of the Pueblo crew.

On this Veterans Day 2021, let us remember with reverence General Colin PowelI and all who served with honor in our armed forces in whatever capacity. Please take note of the many Jewish men and women who served in the military throughout U.S. history, some with great distinction. Never let it be said that we did not do our part for our country and then some. The rest is commentary.