The Jews of Arlington National Cemetery

Over the last week I have been attending the 2011 International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies Conference (IAJGS) in Washington D.C. It was a wonderful week of attending classes, reuniting with old friends and meeting new people. The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW) did a wonderful job.

As it was held in our nation's capital, there were a lot of incredible sites to visit and history to be learned. The night before the conference began I was able to visit Arlington National Cemetery, final resting place of thousands who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
It is a beautiful, reverent place to visit. While walking the grounds I began to notice the many Jews who had given their lives and were remembered at Arlington. One example, was the headstone of Dennet S. Gurman (born 31 Aug 1924), of New York. He and the nine other men listed all lost their lives on 4 Jul 1945, at Celebes Island in the Southwest Pacific.

As I viewed this stone, I found myself wondering how many other Jewish soldiers were at rest at Arlington. A little searching led me to the home page of the conference sponsors, the JGSGW. There, at http://www.anc.jgsgw.org/ is located a wonderful database of 5219 Jews at Rest at Arlington National Cemetery. The database is searchable by name and very user friendly. Using the name of Dennet S. Gurman that I found on the stone, I was able to get the additional information located below.

This record also included a photo of the headstone, which looks much like the one I took. Most of the records do include the photo as well. A special thanks to the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Washington for the time they took to honor those who gave their lives for all of us.

May they never be forgotten.