Jewish vets close McKeesport post, donate items to preserve history

of the post. He served in Europe during the end of WWII and is related to the Jacob Greenfield for whom the post is named.

“I was thinking that I was killing Germans that were causing atrocities to Jews. That was more than other soldiers because I was Jewish and they were not,” he said. “They were just your history.” killing Germans or being

Post 181 is a remnant of a killed. For me, it was a little thriving Jewish veteran different. I was Jewish and I community in the knew what the Germans McKeesport area. Named were doing to the Jews.” for Pvt. Jacob Greenfield, Mr. Greenfield, like several considered the first Jewish other veterans, entered soldier from McKeesport to the Army keeping kosher. die in World War I, Post 181 In his first week of service, opened in 1957. Mostly a social he ate the food from the club, the post also mess hall, which was not raised money for the kosher. McKeesport War Veteran “The first time I ate [nonkosher Memorial and marched in food], I got sicker McKeesport parades. In than the devil,” he said, 1968, the post sent 50 cartons chuckling. “There was of large cigarettes to nothing else offered to me Vietnam. other than that.”

“Most of the stores downtown Mr. Schlitt, with Ms. in McKeesport were Schonberger’s help, has already Jewish-owned, and people begun to archive the would have synagogues in memorabilia and ephemera their basements. It was a of the post into the archives huge historically Jewish at the Heinz History area. We had everything,” Center. Ms. Schonberger said. Long after the post has “Now, it’s zippo. Nothing.” closed, the contents of Mr.

Mr. Schonberger, who Schonberger’s dusty suitcase once headed the post, will be available for researchers served in the Pacific during to peer into the World War II and the occupation once-vibrant, small-town of Japan after the Jewish life in Western war. Pennsylvania.

He remembers visiting “These were people who Nagasaki after the bombing. could share a mess hall He can imitate the with anyone from anywhere whirring sound of electrical and they all speak wires still down on the the same theological language ground. He remembers and it’s — more than meeting up with other that — the language of service,” members of Post 181 after Mr. Schlitt said. his service. “This was the start of something,

“It was gigantic,” he said rather than just the of the McKeesport community. end of it.” “Now, it’s hardly anybody.”

Mr. Schonberger’s brother-in-law, Seymour Greenfield, was also a commander