NOMINATIONS ARE NOW2024 OPEN! See page 10 for details.
WHO ARE YOUR UNSUNG HEROES?
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A N O N P R O FIT, IN D EP EN D EN T N E W S S O U R CE TO I N F O R M , I N S P I R E , E D U C AT E A N D CO N N E C T T H E S T. LO U I S J E W I S H CO M M U N IT Y.
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S N O I TA N I M O N St. Louisans ! N E P O W O Nhelp E R A son forge tie Visit stljewishlight.org/heroes for eligibility details and to submit your nomination.
to father killed at Normandy
DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS: rof seoreh/gro.thgilhsiwFRIDAY, ejlts tisiV JULY 12 @ 5 P.M. ruoy timbus ot dna sliated ytilibigile BY a BILL MOTCHAN .noHeroes itanimoonline n Find complete list of past Unsung at stljewishlight.org/unsung-list SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
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he invasion of Normandy marked .M.P 5 @ 21 YLUJ ,YADIRF :SNOITANIMON ROF ENILDAED a critical turning point during World War II. The Allied armies launched thetsilargest l-gnusnu/amphibious gro.thgilhsiwejltinvasion s ta enilno seoreH gnusnU tsap fo tsil etelpmoc a dniF in military history June 6, 1944. That battle 80 years ago was a costly one, with 73,000 Allied forces killed over the next 12 weeks. Among those was Sam Rubin, a Jewish infantryman from St. Louis. Sam’s son Bob Rubin was 5 years old on D-Day. Bob knows only a few details about his father, including his occupation before the war. “He drove a service car, what we’d call a chauffeur,” said Rubin, 85. “He was drafted when I was 2 years old. And I was told he was killed by a sniper after they landed June 15 after a week in France.” Rubin has seen photos of his father’s grave at Normandy, but he’s never visited the vast American military cemetery there. He does know what it feels like to experience the site in Colleville-sur-Mer, thanks to eyewitness accounts from St. Louisans Cheryl Lamprecht, and Sherilyn and Barry Krell.
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Light wins six awards for Jewish journalism BY BILL MOTCHAN
Searching for the Star of David hile on a river cruise in October, the Krells visited Normandy. Prior to the trip, they did some research and learned about Sam Rubin. The Jewish War Veterans national office provided them with the section, row and plot number of Rubin’s grave. With help from a visitors center staff member, they found the headstone and wiped a bucket of wet sand on it — a custom known as “sanding the grave” — to make the engraving more visible. “We left rocks we’d brought from St. Louis on the headstone, recited a Jewish blessing for a fallen soldier and the El Malei Rachamim and Kaddish prayers, with the hope that young Sam Rubin, who died defending the world against fascism, is resting in peace,” Sherilyn Krell said. The Krells returned home with a photo of Rubin’s grave and moving memories that they wanted to share with a Rubin descendant if they could find one. Sherilyn Krell’s father’s name was J. Leonard Rubin, so she initially thought she might be related. That proved not to
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ABOVE: Sherilyn and Barry Krell at the grave of Sam Rubin, an Army private from St. Louis who died in Normandy in 1944. At left, (from left) are Cheryl Lamprecht, Bob Rubin (son of Sam Rubin), and Sherilyn and Barry Krell. PHOTO: BILL MOTCHAN
The Jewish Light received six Simon Rockower Awards for excellence in journalism. The awards, which honor achievements in Jewish media published in 2023, were announced during the American Jewish Press Association (AJPA) annual meeting on Monday, June 3 in Nashville, Tenn. AJPA celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2024, which also marks the 43th year the Rockower Awards honor the best of Jewish journalism. The annual celebration recognizes superior writing and storytelling, according to Ellen Futterman, editor-in-chief of the Jewish Light. “The Rockower Awards attest to the quality of top-tier Jewish news organizations,” Futterman said. “It’s gratifying to be honored and the six awards we received this year equals our all-time best. I am proud of our work, and this validates that we are delivering superior journalism to our readers.” • The first place award for excellence in writing about young families/people went to Futterman for the story “How the Patchin family is making every moment count.” • The first place award for excellence in writing about antisemitism went to Jordan Palmer for the Unsung Hero profile on teacher Betty Baumgartner in the story Local teacher’s humanity, creativity sparked by sixth-graders’ Nazi salite.” • Palmer, the Jewish Light chief digital content officer, also received second place in the award for excellence in business reporting-trends for the story “WashU freshman tasked with finding the stories within 10,000 Judaica books, and loving it.” • Jeanette Cooperman was honored with first place in the award for excellence in writing about seniors and second place in the award for excellence in personality profiles for the story “One hundred and counting.” • Honorable mention in the award for excellence in North American Jewish history went to Bill Motchan for the story “How 19th century Jews flourished, making history in this small Missouri town.”
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