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From 1940s-era radios to Pearl Harbor paraphernalia, the Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County's new exhibit "Living Voices: A Tribute to Monmouth County's Jewish WWII Veterans" goes beyond a simple timeline of historical events.

"We tried to make it very human," Georgine Eberight, a co-chair of the exhibit, told The Jewish State. "We tried to capture a moment."

The exhibit, which opened the day after Memorial Day on June 1, centers on the oral histories of 12 Monmouth County Jewish veterans of the Second World War. In addition, the stories of three Monmouth County Jewish residents who were civilians during the war are also presented to give voice to the non-military experience during the war.

Each contributor's testimony, which in total added up to more than 15 hours of video footage, was edited down to five minutes. At the exhibit, visitors are able to view these interviews through an interactive display.

The objective of the exhibit, organizers say, is not to document the entire history of the war or even the American soldier's experience in general.

"We're not a World War II museum," explained Michael Berman, the museum's executive director and a co-chair of the exhibit. "The focus of this exhibit is on Jewish war veterans from Monmouth County."

By presenting visitors with a taste of that history and the necessary context, Berman said he hopes that visitors are inspired by the material.

"We'd like for people to get something from the exhibit, which they can take from here and learn more," he said, adding that the museum will provide directions to the appropriate resources for visitors seeking additional information.

Supplementing the veterans' testimonies, the exhibit features vintage artifacts, including posters, advertisements, photographs, radios, field communications equipment, military models, historical documents, flags, film posters, and sheet music.

With veterans of WWII reaching their 80s and 90s, creating the exhibit, which began one year ago, took on a heightened sense of urgency.

"The exhibit gives these men and women the honor they deserve because every day we lose some of them," Eberight said.

Among the subjects is Samuel Kaye, a Belmar resident who was born in 1924 and enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in June 1942. During his nearly four years in the military, he served in England, France, and Germany.

Bernie Weinstein, a Freehold Borough resident, was inducted in the Navy in July 1945. During his service, Weinstein was stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Separation Center in Illinois and the Lido Beach Naval Separation Center in Long Beach, N.Y. Achieving the rank of Seaman First Class, Weinstein was involved with the processing of dental records of troops returning from overseas.

Herbet Tanzman of Long Branch enlisted in the Navy Air Corps in July 1942 and served in Hawaii, Saipan, and Iwo Jima.

In addition to Eberight and Berman, the exhibit's co-chairs are Sid Marshall and David Halbstein.

The oral histories focus on what was distinctive about being a Jewish American soldier during World War II.

For some, Halbstein explained, anti-Semitism was an issue such as in the case of one veteran's story about how he awoke surrounded by fellow soldiers arguing whether or not he was indeed a Jew since he lacked horns.

Though anti-Semitism "wasn't perceived as an obstacle" for everyone, he said. "For others it promoted camaraderie and allowed up them to stand up for themselves" against a common enemy.

Putting together the exhibit was not merely an academic exercise for the organizers. Among the memorabilia on display is a letter from Halbstein's late father, who served as a doctor in Europe during the war, to his family on the eve of the Allied invasion of Normandy. In the letter, his father writes that if they receive this letter it means that he survived the battle. His father survived the war and worked as a physician in Long Branch until he died in 1991.

"For me, I started doing this exhibit because I thought it was a duty to tell the stories of these men, and as I got to know these men personally, it became a privilege," said Eberight, adding that she was particularly struck by how young the interviewees were during the war, many still teenagers at 18 or 19.

"As a mother of boys that age, I was amazed how they were able to survive, step up to the plate, and really become men overnight," she said.

During the filming of the interviews, Halbstein said that he was so focused on the camera angles, the lighting, or thinking of the next question that it wasn't until he went through the footage in the editing process that he was affected by the power of the veterans' stories.

"I found I could not work for long periods of time and it was not because I was tired, but because I was so emotionally involved," he said.

"Living Voices: A Tribute to Monmouth County's Jewish WWII Veterans" will run through Fall 2010. The exhibit is $3 for members and $5 for non-members, with free admission to all veterans. Museum hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.

On June 13, the museum will host a tribute honoring local veterans, feature a Jewish War Veterans honor guard, a musical tribute to the WWII American songbook by Beth Burns and Vic Schiappo, featuring Brenda Schofield and Jamiam Berkal, and a ceremony recognizing the veterans. Refreshments will be served. A donation of $18 is requested. For further information call the museum at (732) 252-6990 or send a check payable to the JHMOMC, P.O. Box 7078, Freehold, N.J. 07728. All reservations must be received by June 8. Tickets will be held at the Museum.