I grew up in America in the immediate post World War Two era. Zionism and the Korean War were the main events in the outside world. By the time I was in High School The Israeli War of Independence had already been followed by round 2, the Sinai campaign of 1956. There was still compulsory military service in the US then, By the time I finished my initial 3 years on active duty in the US Navy I got accepted to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem to work towards a masters degree in Near Eastern Studies as a regular student. This coincided with round 3, the Six Day War of 1967. I taught First Aid and served as an EMT in Jerusalem for that war. When it was over I was convinced that my future needed to be in Israel.
I still had time left as part of my American military obligation. I decided to finish it on active duty and applied for voluntary recall to service and assignment to the Pacific Fleet, and the Vietnam War. My contract ended in 1972 and we headed for Israel. Oh, did I forget to mention that in those 4 years I also married, and we had a daughter? We began life in Israel in Ashkelon, and soon moved to Haifa. I was accepted for service in the Israeli Navy just in time to be an active participant in the Yom Kippur War.
When I left the military world we moved to what was then a tiny cooperative village in Gush Etzion, about 12 miles South of Jerusalem. At that time the population was 16 families. The town was built on the side of what passes for a mountain in this part of the world. We’re 920 meters above sea level. In common with the surrounding area, there was little greenery. There were lots of rocks and some scrub bushes and there wasn’t another Jewish village within view (The nearest Arab village was also out of sight on the other side of an adjacent mountain). The earth that supports the lawn around our house was brought in by truck. Today we have 14 real trees in the yard. We planted 11 of them ourselves. The other three we placed by a family that had lived there before us, and left after a year. The “center” of our village was a building on the West side housing offices and a kindergarten. The built in planters on the lower level are full of flowers growing in earth that I, personally, put there.
Today we are a thriving community with about 450 families. We’re no a cooperative any more. We’re mostly a bedroom community for people with work in Jerusalem. But we do have our own local services. There are 5 synagogues, a small supermarket, and that single kindergarten has become six.
When I was a child we talked about Zionist pioneers building up a barren land. Today, 45 years later, I feel like that is what we did.
Wetherhorn 