Key Takeaways
- • Operation Benjamin, a nonprofit organization, successfully corrected the grave marker of Paul Singer, a Jewish American World War II airman from Shorewood, Wisconsin, replacing a cross with a Star of David after more than 80 years in May 2025.
- • Singer, a navigator who died in 1943 when his plane was hit over Foggia, Italy, had lost his U.S. Army dog tag (possibly marked "H" for Hebrew) in the crash and lacked immediate family advocacy, resulting in incorrect burial designation for over eight decades.
- • The headstone correction required extensive genealogical and military investigation by Operation Benjamin, followed by formal consent from Singer's closest living relative, Jodi Salinsky Reff, a Wisconsin native with documented ties to the Milwaukee Jewish community.
- • Operation Benjamin specializes in identifying and correcting the grave markers of Jewish American servicemen mistakenly buried under Christian crosses instead of Stars of David, addressing a systemic documentation gap from World War II military records.
- • Singer was buried nine feet from fellow Jewish airman Sheldon Finder, who was correctly interred under a Star of David, highlighting the inconsistency in grave marker assignments even within the same burial location.
Summary
Paul Singer, a young Jewish airman from Shorewood, Wisconsin, has been reburied under the correct religious symbol after 82 years of misidentification. For over eight decades, a cross marked Singer's grave in Italy—a burial error that was finally corrected in May 2025 when Operation Benjamin, a nonprofit dedicated to rectifying such cases, organized a headstone replacement ceremony in Rome.
Singer died in 1943 when his B-17 was struck over Foggia, Italy. As the plane's navigator, he was one of only two crew members killed in the incident; the other casualty was Sheldon Finder, also a Jewish airman. Both were buried in Italy, but only Finder received a Star of David marker. Singer's case remained unresolved for generations because his U.S. Army dog tag—potentially marked "H" for Hebrew—was lost in the crash. Additionally, Singer had no immediate family to advocate for his Jewish identity: he was an only child who had lost both parents by age 16 and was raised by two aunts in Milwaukee.
Operation Benjamin's intervention required a comprehensive genealogical and military investigation to establish Singer's religious identity and locate his closest living relatives. The organization identified Jodi Salinsky Reff, a Wisconsin native and descendant of Singer's extended family, who attended the headstone ceremony in Rome. Reff, born and raised in Shorewood, was a member of Congregation Sinai and maintains deep roots in the Wisconsin Jewish community; her brother, Jim Salinsky, continues to reside in Milwaukee.
According to Shalom Lamm, co-founder and chief historian of Operation Benjamin, the symbolic moment of lifting the cross and placing the Star of David "felt like something right just happened." The process of changing a headstone is legally complex and requires explicit consent from the soldier's closest living relatives—a procedural requirement that Operation Benjamin navigated on Singer's behalf.
Operation Benjamin's work addresses a documented gap in World War II military records, where Jewish American servicemen were sometimes incorrectly assigned Christian burial markers due to missing or damaged identification documents. By systematically identifying and correcting these cases, the nonprofit ensures that fallen Jewish soldiers receive appropriate recognition of their faith and military service.
Singer died in 1943 when his B-17 was struck over Foggia, Italy. As the plane's navigator, he was one of only two crew members killed in the incident; the other casualty was Sheldon Finder, also a Jewish airman. Both were buried in Italy, but only Finder received a Star of David marker. Singer's case remained unresolved for generations because his U.S. Army dog tag—potentially marked "H" for Hebrew—was lost in the crash. Additionally, Singer had no immediate family to advocate for his Jewish identity: he was an only child who had lost both parents by age 16 and was raised by two aunts in Milwaukee.
Operation Benjamin's intervention required a comprehensive genealogical and military investigation to establish Singer's religious identity and locate his closest living relatives. The organization identified Jodi Salinsky Reff, a Wisconsin native and descendant of Singer's extended family, who attended the headstone ceremony in Rome. Reff, born and raised in Shorewood, was a member of Congregation Sinai and maintains deep roots in the Wisconsin Jewish community; her brother, Jim Salinsky, continues to reside in Milwaukee.
According to Shalom Lamm, co-founder and chief historian of Operation Benjamin, the symbolic moment of lifting the cross and placing the Star of David "felt like something right just happened." The process of changing a headstone is legally complex and requires explicit consent from the soldier's closest living relatives—a procedural requirement that Operation Benjamin navigated on Singer's behalf.
Operation Benjamin's work addresses a documented gap in World War II military records, where Jewish American servicemen were sometimes incorrectly assigned Christian burial markers due to missing or damaged identification documents. By systematically identifying and correcting these cases, the nonprofit ensures that fallen Jewish soldiers receive appropriate recognition of their faith and military service.
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