Gilla Gerzon (), known to many United States military personnel as the "mother of the 6th fleet,"Brill, Arthur P., Jr.,"Expeditionary USO," Sea Power, Oct 1997, retrieved September 20, 2012 is an Israeli who served as director of the Haifa, Israel USO for almost eighteen years, from the time it opened in December 1984Siegel, Brett,"Gilla Gerzon: Mother of the Sixth Fleet," All Hands, March 1998 (Issue 971), retrieved September 19, 2012 until it closed in September 2002 when U.S. security concerns for the region led to a sharp decrease in U.S. ship visits. In 1993, she was brought to Somalia to establish a temporary USO for U.S. service personnel deployed in support of Operation Restore Hope.Minutes of USO World Board of Governors meeting , Washington, DC, September 29, 1993, retrieved September 19, 2012Pomeroy, Gary, "USO Center to open soon in Mogadishu," Stars and Stripes, January 8, 1993
Gerzon is the first Israeli citizen to receive the United States Navy Commendation Medal.Kolb, Richard K.,"Armegeddon: The Holy Land as Battlefield," VFW magazine, September 1, 2000, retrieved September 19, 2012]
Background Gerzon first began working with U.S. military personnel during her time as director of public relations at Haifa's Dan Carmel Hotel in the 1980s. She worked with the hotel to host holiday parties for officers and sailors from visiting U.S. ships, and then tours of Israel. She saw her actions as an "ideal way to repay the American people for all the warmth and comfort she and her daughter had received while in the United States."
Haifa USO The recommendation to open a USO in Israel was made by U.S. Navy Vice-Admiral Edward Martin, Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet, when U.S. ship visits to Israel began to increase after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings in Lebanon."The USO in Haifa," JINSA newsletter, October 1986, retrieved September 19, 2012Library of Congress Veterans History Project: Arnold Resnicoff collection, AFC/2001/001/70629, May 2010 Beginning in 1979 five to ten Sixth Fleet ships began to visit Haifa each year, but by the mid-80s, after the bombing, the annual number of port calls by U.S. ships had grown to 40–50.Spitzer, Maya, "Haifa enjoys benefits of visiting U.S. Sailors," The Jerusalem Post, March 3, 2009, retrieved September 22, 2012 Two officers on Admiral Martin's staff, Public Affairs Officer Captain Peter Litrenta and Assistant Sixth Fleet Chaplain Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, had worked with Gerzon during her time at the Dan Carmel, and recommended her as director for the proposed USO operation.
The new Haifa USO opened on December 2, 1984,USO volunteer handbook , July 2011, retrieved September 19, 2012 before a crowd of hundreds of Navy personnel from the and the ."100s attend USO opening in Haifa," Stars and Stripes, December 4, 1984, retrieved September 19, 2012 It was located near the entrance to the Dan Panorama Hotel on Mount Carmel.Virtual Israel Experience: Haifa, retrieved September 21, 2012 Working with a team of volunteers, Gerzon worked to welcome military personnel and provide them with opportunities to explore and get to know Israel. The Post and Courier, May 30, 1999, retrieved September 19, 2012 Under her leadership, the Haifa USO became "one of the best-loved facilities in the USO system.""Italy pulls out of Durban II; The U.S. Navy returns to Haifa," JINSA report 867, March 6, 2009, retrieved September 19, 2012 Referred to as "a one-woman whirlwind" and "inexhaustibly hospitable," Gerzon's "take-charge approach won her renown among the officers and enlisted men of the 6th fleet," and made the USO "not a sad hangout for lonely sailors, but more like the busy office of a camp's activities director."Struck, Doug,"U.S. sailors get warm welcome in Israeli port," The Baltimore Sun, September 17, 1993, retrieved September 19, 2012
A USO article noted that the Haifa USO under Gerzon's leadership epitomized "forward deployed hospitality for U.S. forces overseas." Open 24 hours a day when U.S. ships visit Israel, her USO operation served as "an unofficial base of operations to American sailors and Marines forward-deployed to the Mediterranean." Gerzon was able to augment her small staff with 200 English-speaking volunteers so that the USO could function as a "bridge between visiting U.S. service personnel and the Israeli people," answering questions, arranging visits, making hotel and tour reservations, and sponsoring a program for local residents to "Adopt a Sailor" during U.S. Navy ship visits. Buses for "liberty parties" from the ships took officers and sailors from the port to the USO door.
Activities Under Gerzon's direction, the USO not only provided opportunities for visiting military personnel to tour the country, but also to get involved with its people. For example, Gerzon speaks about the time a group of sailors visited a school for emotionally handicapped children, "just to play with them...to make tricks and entertain them...[and]they went back three times,"JINSA newsletter , February 1985 (excerpted from "Stars and Stripes"), retrieved September 19, 2012 while others went to schools to speak with students or to a cancer ward at a Haifa hospital to visit patients, entertaining them or bringing them gifts. Sailors would also help with special projects, such as painting orphanages or even homes for the elderly.1995 Command History (online) for USS Nassau, October 7, 1996, retrieved September 22, 2012 Gerzon notes that during major ship visits, 400–500 sailors would visit the USO daily, sometimes asking questions about agriculture or technology in Israel, and sometimes to take advantage of free tickets to events such as the Haifa Symphony Orchestra. Trips organized by the USO brought sailors to locations including the Sea of Galilee, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and Masada, in addition to visits to homes and kibbutzim.tobaccodocuments.org (USO news compilation) , May 1, 1990, retrieved September 19, 2012
In addition to activities that brought U.S. military personnel to meet Israelis, Gerzon worked to bring Israelis to meet and greet the Americans—such as the time that crew members from visiting U.S. Navy ships and arrived on small boats from their ships to be greeted at the Haifa port by 50 Israeli school children, singing songs in Hebrew and English, and waving U.S. and Israeli flags. She also coordinated numerous home hospitality visits for arriving sailors—including one time, when a ship arrived on the eve of the Jewish holy day Rosh Hashana and it was hard to make last-minute contact with others, she called home to tell her mother to expect 100 additional guests for dinner. Gerzon recalls that her mother's immediate response was that she'll start making more soup. On another occasion, Gerzon coordinated volunteers from Haifa and Netanya to prepare 1400 home-cooked meals ("right down to the chicken soup") for crew members of the and the . The USO also sponsored many special events including beach parties that allowed military personnel to mingle with Israeli citizens. Other special events for shipboard personnel Gerzon coordinated on behalf of the USO included children's parades, folklore dances, and even fashion shows.
Visits In addition to creating a welcoming space and opportunities to explore Israel for the military personnel, especially those on visiting U.S. Navy ships, Gerzon worked as the USO Liaison to the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to coordinate visits from many visiting military and civilian distinguished guests.Solomon, Ron, "The U.S. Sixth Fleet: A Tribute," Ron Solomon Photography, retrieved September 20, 2012]
Closing In 1989 USO financial concerns drove a decision to close the Haifa USO,"Port where ferry tragedy occurred is frequent R&R spot," Associated Press, December 22, 1990, retrieved September 25,2012 but a groundswell of support and appeals from the Sixth Fleet, the United States Congress and organizations such as the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs resulted in a reversal of the decision."We all won: the campaign to reopen the Haifa USO fleet center," The Northern California Jewish Bulletin, July 28, 1989 Part of the decision was to use the USO to house a new "LT Elmo Zumwalt III" Library, sponsored by Book Bank USA. Soon thereafter, beginning in 1990, U.S. interest in Haifa increased, not only as a port of call, but even as a possible home port for some Navy ships, including one aircraft carrier.Sia, Richard H., "Navy considers base at Israel port of Haifa: Domestic, Mid-east effects are weighed," February 17, 1993, retrieved September 22, 2012"New base in the Mediterranean?," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January 1994, page 64 In fact, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin reportedly proposed to U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1993 that Haifa become the homeport for the U.S. Sixth Fleet, and a number of formal U.S. studies of Haifa port capabilities, including one by the Center for Naval Analyses, were completed."Port of Haifa Study: Harbor Services," Center for Naval Analyses, May 1993
However, when U.S. ship visits to Haifa sharply decreased in the early 2000s, largely because of security concerns in the region, including the Second Intifada in Israel and the October 2000 USS Cole bombing in Yemen,Benn, Aluf, "U.S. Navy steering clear of Haifa port," HaAretz, July 31, 2011, retrieved September 22, 2012O'Sullivan, Arieh, "US Navy returns quietly to Haifa," Free Republic, May 6, 2004Bryen, Shoshana, "Some good news in the Mediterranean to start the week," San Diego Jewish News, March 9, 2009, retrieved September 19, 2012 the USO was closed in September 2002. Israel criticized the U.S. decision as one that sent a signal of weakness to Islamic militants.Dunn, Ross, and Evans, Michael, The Times (UK), August 1, 2001, retrieved September 20, 2012 Beginning in 2008 U.S. Navy ship visits to Haifa began to increase once more, but although no plans have been announced to reopen the USO, Haifa Deputy Spokesman Roni Grossman has said that hosting American sailors "is a great tradition of the city"—and although the number of sailors now visiting the city "pales in comparison" to the numbers that used to arrive on Navy ships, "it's significant that there is a renewed connection between Israel and the American navy...[and] Now we're doing everything we can to show the sailors a good time." Additionally, following the traditions established by the Haifa USO, visiting sailors are again engaging in volunteer projects during their visits."Eight U.S. Sixth Fleet sailors came this morning to Rambam Health Care Campus, to 'enjoy' a day off," Rambam Health Care Campus website, June 14, 2012, retrieved September 22, 2012 Many individuals and organizations involved with supporting visitors, on ships or through visits sponsored by the American Embassy, credit their work with Gerzon and the USO as the inspiration for their involvement.
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