- Feb 5, 2002
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When given the choice to put his religious identity on his metal dog tag, World War II soldier Albert Belmont did what many Jewish soldiers did at the time. His family members say he put a “P” for Protestant, out of fear of what Nazi German soldiers could do to him if he were captured.
For more than seven decades, Belmont was buried under a Latin cross, what soldiers were generally buried under unless they had “H” on their dog tag for Hebrew. In April, however, his daughter and granddaughters traveled to France to see the cross above his body replaced with a Star of David to reflect his Jewish identity.
Belmont’s changed headstone is part of a larger project called Operation Benjamin, working to correct the headstones of hundreds of Jewish soldiers who died in World Wars I and II. Barbara Belmont, who lives in Alexandria, Va., and her two daughters joined six other families on a trip to Europe to participate in ceremonies for the changing of their relatives’ headstones.
Continued below.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/05/06/jewish-world-war-ii-veterans-tombstone/
For more than seven decades, Belmont was buried under a Latin cross, what soldiers were generally buried under unless they had “H” on their dog tag for Hebrew. In April, however, his daughter and granddaughters traveled to France to see the cross above his body replaced with a Star of David to reflect his Jewish identity.
Belmont’s changed headstone is part of a larger project called Operation Benjamin, working to correct the headstones of hundreds of Jewish soldiers who died in World Wars I and II. Barbara Belmont, who lives in Alexandria, Va., and her two daughters joined six other families on a trip to Europe to participate in ceremonies for the changing of their relatives’ headstones.
Continued below.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/05/06/jewish-world-war-ii-veterans-tombstone/
