“You can complain about things or you can make them better,” says retired U.S. Army Col. Carl A. Singer, who takes the latter approach in his top volunteer post at the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America.
A Vietnam War vet who served on a hand-picked elite team supporting famed Vietnam War Gen. William Westmoreland, Singer has dedicated much of his time since then to volunteering in both the veteran and Jewish communities.
A resident of Passaic, New Jersey, Singer is a 30-year member of JWV Post 133 in New Jersey. He was elected the JWV’s national commander at the organization’s annual national convention last summer.
Born in 1946 on a westbound freight train along the Polish-Ukrainian border, Singer spent time in Displaced Persons camps before coming to the U.S. at age 3. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where his mother worked in a bakery and his father worked as a tailor.
Singer would become the first member of his family to attend college, going on to earn a master’s in industrial and operations engineering and a Ph.D. in management. He honed his management skills at the U.S. Army War College’s Center for Strategic Leadership, which trains senior officers for command positions.
Now, Singer is applying his skills in the service of veterans.
“Whether it’s visiting veterans, sending care packages to vets overseas, or cooperating with the Jewish chaplaincy, we help veterans regardless of their religion,” he said.
“We help with Shabbat and Passover services and on Hanukkah we bring latkes, not just to Jewish vets but to all veterans.
“Volunteers don’t just push the veteran in his wheelchair, we sit down and chat with the veteran, especially those vets who don’t get a lot of visitors.” That includes visiting veterans in nursing homes and assisted living facilities around the country, he said.
Singer said that under his watch, JWV will continue to focus on basic issues for veterans, including Veterans Administration hospitals and the health care system, and other issues, maintaining a Jewishly relevant agenda.
“JWV will continue to advocate for a strong and safe Israel and work to fight anti-Semitism,” he added.