(photo by William Kitson)

Members of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States recently held their annual executive meeting on Dec. 20 at the California Veterans Home in West Los Angeles. A special ceremony was held honoring Tibor Rubin, a member of the organization who passed away on Dec. 5. Pictured at the meeting is the Los Angeles Dodgers’ legendary long-time manager Tommy Lasorda, who is a friend of the Rubin family, and Rubin’s daughter Rosie.

Rubin is the only Holocaust survivor to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. Of the 21 million living veterans in the United States, only 77 have received the medal, the nation’s highest military honor. Rubin received it for his extraordinary bravery during the Korean War, saving the lives of fellow soldiers and capturing enemy forces. After his unit was captured, he again distinguished himself in a prisoner of war camp by assisting fellow prisoners using his experiences as a teenager in a Nazi concentration camp, said Chuck Ashman, a fellow member of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States. The medal was awarded to Rubin in 2005 after fellow prisoners lobbied for it. For information about the Jewish War Veterans of the United States, visit ww.jwv.org.