EAST VILLAGE — When Rebecca Dauer's grandfather passed away earlier this spring, she began thinking of ways to commemorate him.
Sidney Jacobs, her grandfather, who died at 93, was a veteran of the British Army who was wounded while fighting for the Allies.
After the war ended, Jacobs moved to the United States, where he joined the Jewish War Veterans, the country's oldest veterans' organization, whose colors he proudly flew at Veterans Day marches well up into his old age. What better way, Dauer thought, to honor her grandfather's memory than to host a benefit for the organization he loved?
So with Sidney Jacobs and other Jewish veterans in mind, Dauer decided to rally the members of Jews and Brews NYC, a social club she started with the help of her fiancé, Michael Israel, and her friend Sandy Silverstein, to host a fundraiser for the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America.
The event, which will be held at the East Village bar Durden on Nov. 10 at 6.30 p.m., will be an opportunity to socialize in a relaxed environment, while helping to raise money for veterans, organizers said.
"A portion of the proceeds from the bar goes to the veterans. And it's a free event for everyone. It's essentially just a great place for like-minded Jews to come together and mingle," said Dauer, 29.
She added that the event has no religious agenda and that people of all cultural backgrounds are welcome.
Dauer's granddad was born in London, and spent time as a warden in an underground bomb shelter during the Blitz, before joining the British Army and eventually rising to the rank of sergeant, his wife said.
Jacobs moved to the United States and, in 1952, married Barbara Jacobs, 85, who was his wife for 62 years.
"He was a very sweet, lovable guy, my husband," said Jacobs, who now lives in Boca Raton, Florida. "He loved the Jewish War Veterans," she added. "He was proud to be a veteran."
Barbara Jacobs said her husband bore the scars from fighting for the Allies in Madagascar and Burma long after the fighting stopped.
"He saw plenty of action, he had malaria twice, he had shrapnel in his wrist," Jacobs said. "It's a wonder he didn't lose his hand."
"He remembered everything. He said it was awful," Jacobs recalled.
Monroe Mayer, 87, a veteran of the United States Air Force who grew up in Washington Heights and has been a member of the JWV since the 1950s, said he was proud that young people were trying to raise money for the organization.
"We like it, because it's a bottomless pit to be able to take care of all these people, men and women, who have come back from overseas, who are struggling, reconnecting with family, with employment, with education. It's not easy to come back and integrate with civilian life again," Mayer said.
Asked if he would consider attending a Jews and Brews event, Mayer said he would very much like to.
"A bunch of Jewish guys getting together, you get to meet people," Mayer said. "For a beer and a sandwich, why the hell not?"
