Auschwitz survivor honored

Monday, Feb. 4, 2002 | 9:02 a.m.

Rabbi Joseph Kohn, a survivor of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp and a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, was inducted Sunday into the Legion of Honor of the Chapel of Four Chaplains during a ceremony in Las Vegas.

Kohn's induction into the honor group of the 51-year-old, Philadelphia-based organization was conducted at the Lowden Veterans Center and Museum and was attended by state and regional officials of the Chapel of Four Chaplains.

The event commemorated the 59th anniversary of the torpedo sinking of the Dorchester, when four military chaplains became heroes of World War II for giving their lifejackets to sailors and providing comfort to the wounded as they died -- arms linked and praying -- while going down with the ship.

It was the second time in four months that Kohn has been honored by the museum. Kohn, who in 1959 helped open Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas, previously participated in the Veterans Day tribute to all death camp survivors and rescuers at the opening of the liberation of Dachau concentration camp exhibit at the museum at 3333 Cambridge St.

Kohn who came to America in 1949 as a teenager, is only the fourth Nevadan ever to be inducted into the Four Chaplain's Legion of Honor.

While serving in the Army, Kohn could not be an official chaplain because he was not a U.S. citizen at the time. Instead, on his days off, he served as an unofficial chaplain, where he once officiated Passover for 1,150 soldiers.

He later was wounded in combat and was hospitalized for five months.