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When Jews begin their Hanukkah celebrations this week, they will commemorate a 2,200-year old revolt led by Judah Maccabee against a Greek empire attempting to crush the Jewish faith. For some, the holiday holds an added resonance, linking their military service to one of the greatest Jewish warriors of all time.
These are the Jews of the United States Marine Corps.
In the popular mind, a Jewish Marine may sound exotic. In fact, Jews have their own chapters in the history of the Corps. In his book “Semper Chai!” Howard J. Leavitt explains the compatibility with a refreshing lack of nuance: “[M]any Jews were—and are—Marines, and the basic and lofty precepts and spiritual underpinnings of the United States, the U.S. Marine Corps and Judaism are one and the same, without any differences or conflict.”
In my life, Jews and Marines just go together. Maybe it started with my sister’s father-in-law, Harold Green. Having grown up in a family whose first song was “The Marines’ Hymn,” none of my brothers were surprised that when our sister gave her heart to a nice Jewish boy, he would be one whose dad—like hers—had been a Marine.
There are also the children of friends. When Bill Kristol’s son was graduated from Harvard two years ago, many of his classmates went on to law school or hedge funds. Lt. Joseph Kristol deployed to Afghanistan, where he led Marines in the fabled 3/5 (3rd Battalion, 5th Marines) during combat in Helmand province. Another Ivy Leaguer who also exchanged Harvard Crimson for Marine Crimson is Lt. Matthew Blumenthal, son of Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.).
Then there’s the Ledeen family. Among my most memorable evenings was a farewell for Marine Lt. Gabriel Ledeen, who was shipping off to pre-surge Iraq. That night we brought our three young daughters to his mom and dad’s house, so they might remember the pride and anxiety of families whose sacrifices enable ours to sleep safely at night. Gabriel Ledeen is no longer on active duty but has been followed into the Corps by a brother who is: Lt. Daniel Ledeen.