Religious freedom is a pillar of American democracy, and one of the first instances the freedom came into play was in the fight for that very democracy: the Revolutionary War. The National Museum of American Jewish Military History, together with Jewish War Veterans of the USA and AJC Washington, hosted a panel of veterans and Revolutionary War experts for the Jewish Heroes of the Revolution and the Ongoing Legacy of Religious Freedom program. The four panelists discussed how the Jewish contribution to the Revolutionary War shaped American military history, and how the importance of religious freedom in the military is still seen today.
The panel featured Adam Jortner, a historian, author, and Acadia University professor of history; retired Colonel Frank Cohn, a 100-year-old U.S. Army veteran who escaped Nazi Germany before coming to the U.S., and served through the Battle of the Bulge and the Vietnam War; retired Admiral Paul Becker, who served as a naval intelligence officer and received numerous awards; and Colonel Rebecca DeForest, a U.S. Army reserve officer and combat veteran who has held roles in aviation, cyber, strategic planning, and more.
Jortner began by asking the question, “What good does diversity do us, after all?” In other words, why did George Washington make the decision not only to allow Jews to fight in the Revolutionary Army, but to rise to leadership ranks, when the British Army did not allow Jews at all? The answer: Washington needed men, and when an army is more diverse, everyone’s qualities are taken advantage of—everyone can contribute. Allowing Jews to serve in the Revolutionary War both gave Washington the men he needed, as well as granted Jews, and other non-Protestants, a real chance at full rights in the new United States. Cohn, Becker, and DeForest each spoke about their individual experiences as Jews in the U.S. military, demonstrating the significance of religious freedom, which began 250 years ago, continues in strength.