A clearly delighted Kassie Sandacz found no shortage of eager dance partners Tuesday morning, Nov. 11, while performing at the Veterans Day Celebration at the Edward A. Myerberg Center.
The founder and CEO of Voices of Vets, a nonprofit performing musical group, Sandacz belted out songs ranging from Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” to the show tune “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to The Shirelles’ “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.”
(Photo by Robyn Stevens Brody)
But Sandacz, a trained vocalist, seemed to have the most fun when approached by fun-loving, hip-shaking septuagenarians and octogenarians in the audience determined to cut a rug with her while her four-piece band played on.
“It’s such an honor to be with you all here today,” she told the audience of approximately 200. “Thank you so much for your service to our country.”
The annual tribute to veterans at the Northwest Baltimore center for older adults featured coffee and noshes; tables representing the Jewish War Veterans of Maryland, the Rodger C. Snyder JWV Ladies Auxiliary and the Weekend Backpacks organization; and a color guard presentation by the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps from Franklin High School in Owings Mills.
Also on hand were participants — furry and otherwise — of the Crisis Response Canines organization, who delighted audience members with their mere presence.
“On behalf of the Myerberg Center and our nation, we ask that all veterans here who are able to stand up and be recognized,” said Karen Levian, an organizer of the event and veteran of the U.S. Air Force. “These men and women are heroes, and we also recognize the sacrifices made by their families. We who are blessed to be here today must never forget the sacrifices made for our freedoms.”
After an invocation authored by Rabbi Erica Steelman and delivered by her father Barry Steelman, keynote speaker Philip Goodman spoke about his experiences in the U.S. Navy.
A former senior regulatory policy analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Goodman is a 1982 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.
He quoted Uriah P. Levy (1792-1862), the Navy’s first Jewish commodore, who famously said, “I am an American, a sailor and a Jew.”
Said Goodman, who grew up in Annapolis: “My father was an American, a sailor and Jew, and so was I. I am proud to have served and to be in the presence of all of you.”
Goodman said one of his life’s role models and heroes is Hyman G. Rickover, who was born Chaim Godalia Rykower in Poland and became the first Jew to be promoted to the rank of admiral in the U.S. Navy.
“He believed in perfection, that we could always be better,” Goodman said. “His lesson served me well. He had the longest career in the history of the Navy — 63 years. He was finally forced to retire in 1982, and that’s when I was fortunate enough to meet him.”
Goodman spoke about what it was like to serve on a submarine during a good portion of his five years in the Navy in the 1980s.
(Photo by Robyn Stevens Brody)
“It’s basically a sewer pipe capped off on both ends, with about 100 men inside,” he said to laughter. “But life was actually pretty good. We followed some Russian subs around and performed operations that I still cannot talk about. It was isolating, but we did important work and it was actually a lot of fun. From what I know, I was the only Jew on the boat.”
Goodman’s talk was followed by a crowd-pleasing performance by Voices of Vets, which alternately featured pop standards and patriotic numbers. Among the selections were the Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “My Girl” by the Temptations, George M. Cohan’s “You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “God Bless the U.S.A.” by Lee Greenwood.
In addition, the band played the official anthems of each military branch, requesting that audience members stand up for their respective group and be honored.
The gathering closed with a rousing singing of “God Bless America” and an official Veterans Day proclamation by Baltimore County Councilman Israel “Izzy” Patoka (D-2nd), who was represented by his legislative aide, Carlos Gonzalez.
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