Jewish veterans reminisce in Buffalo Grove

As he sat in a rat-infested cellar, the sound of trucks pulling out in a hurry was music to Al Kamikow’s ears.

The young combat medic took his opportunity and kicked down the door, relieved to see his Nazi captors had left him. It didn’t take long before he was right back in the mix, running to the aid of wounded American soldiers on the European battlefields during World War II.

Kamikow, a Purple Heart recipient from Buffalo Grove, has just one of the many stories of bravery to be found at Buffalo Grove Jewish War Veterans Post 89. The 56 men, mostly World War II and Korean War veterans, are a part of the reason suburban residents will be able to celebrate America’s freedom Monday with family and friends at barbecues and concerts.

Kamikow, though, is thankful he didn’t pay for that freedom with the ultimate sacrifice, as so many of his brothers in arms did. His division lost 75 percent of its men.

“We were very susceptible; when someone got hit, we had to go out there,” he said of being a medic. “We were shooting practice for the Germans. I tried to cover up the red cross on my helmet as much as I could.”

For his service, the 87-year-old was invited as an official guest to the opening of the World War II Memorial in April 2004.

Kamikow is just one member of a group that shares a family bond through shared experiences that are incomprehensible for most.

Michael Hoff, an 86-year-old from Lake Forest, was a forward observer in the Army during World War II. He saw plenty of devastation during his service as he was part of the bloody D-Day invasion of Normandy.

Despite all the grisly scenes he and his colleagues at Post 89 encountered, they still have a sense of humor.

“I had to provide coordinates so we could pinpoint enemy troops and strike,” Hoff said, only to be cut off by Kamikow. “You would hit us too,” the medic said with a smile, referring to the danger of “friendly fire.”

Gil Lande, an Army combat engineer from Wheeling, who was wounded twice during his 13 months in Korea, received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, but it is the medal he did not receive that he jokes about.

“I never got the Good Conduct Medal,” Lande laughed.

Underneath the humor are stories of pain and sacrifice.

The man currently in charge of the post, Bill Hunter, 85, of Buffalo Grove, was hit twice — once on a mission in the Philippines and the other in the Battle of Okinawa during a kamikaze attack.

Though he has recovered from physical injuries, the memories remain.

“I usually sleep three or four hours a night,” Hunter said. “People ask me what it’s like to be in a battle. I tell them to go to a butcher shop.”

Though they have given more than their due, the men at Post 89 continue to give back.

Every week they play bingo with young soldiers recovering from war injuries at the North Chicago Veteran Affairs Medical Center. Hunter said for some of those soldiers, their only visitors are the veterans.

“It’s not how it was with us, when we came back to a hero’s welcome,” he said.

“That’s not there anymore and it is heartbreaking to see … every person that fought for this country is a hero in my heart.”