Chaplains Hill in Arlington National Cemetery contains the graves of a number of military chaplains and three monuments to chaplains-- one to chaplains who died in World War I; one to Protestant Chaplains who died in World Wars I and II; and a third to Catholic chaplains who died in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. However there is no monument to the 13 Jewish chaplains who have died on active duty since World War I.
CNN reported earlier this month on the efforts of Jewish groups to obtain Congressional authorization for a monument to them. Private funds have already been raised and a design for the monument has been created. The Jewish Council for Public Affairs yesterday
reported on progress so far:
In the House, through the urging of Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Chairman Jeff Miller (R-FL) included the text of the Jewish chaplains resolution as part of H. R. 1627, a larger bill issuing guidelines for memorials at Arlington. The bill is expected to be voted on in the House on May 23rd.
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee is similarly working on a larger bill regarding memorials at Arlington, and this committee also intends to include the Jewish chaplains resolution as part of this bill. The Senate is still collecting co-sponsors for S.Con.Res. 4, the Jewish chaplains resolution.
