A exceptional pupil, orator, and debater, Rabbi Roland Gittelsohn used to be an outspoken social activist and widespread lecturer on political issues through the Thirties. regardless of his passionate help of pacifism, Gittelsohn voluntarily joined the military whilst the USA entered global warfare II, changing into the 1st Jewish chaplain assigned to the us Marine Corps. Gittelsohn’s amazing tale, advised the following from his surviving notes, chronicles the evolution of his main issue of judgment of right and wrong and provides an insider’s view into the conflict of Iwo Jima. writer Lee Mandel’s learn presents an exceptional examine how the U.S. army took priests of all religions and molded them right into a powerful help strength for America’s combating forces.

Mandel strains the Gittelsohn kin from their emigration from Russia via Roland’s ordination and his tours into the political and Zionist activities that formed the Nineteen Thirties. Delving into Gittelsohn’s pivotal selection to affix the militia as a chaplain and his reviews in conflict, Mandel info the behind-the-scenes anti-Semitic energy struggles that nearly avoided what used to be to develop into essentially the most well-known oratories in army historical past. on the commitment of the 5th Marine department Cemetery, Gittelsohn brought a eulogy referred to as “The Purest Democracy” and infrequently known as the “Gettysburg deal with of WWII.” during this dramatic narrative, Mandel attracts from many old assets, together with Gittelsohn’s 1988 autobiography, wide own papers, and the rabbi’s unpublished conflict memoir—including his research of why pacifism failed—to current an entire photo of this strange man.