97-Year-Old WWII Veteran Honored by MJHS at The Bristal

97-year-old Benjamin Senitzky, a resident of The Bristal at North Woodmere, received a citation and proclamation from MJHS in a ceremony held at The Bristal. Mr. Senitzky enlisted in the U.S. Army when he was just 17 years old. He had immigrated to the United States at the age of six from Vilna, Lithuania, he raised his family in Plainview while teaching college in Farmingdale.

He graduated from the High School of Music and Arts in New York City when he was just 15 and entered Columbia University. He left Columbia during his sophomore year to join the U.S. Army. He went through basic training at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, he was scheduled to deploy to Europe to take part in the Battle of the Bulge but was reassigned to serve as an Information and Education Specialist to train others who were entering the armed services.

MJHS, previously known as the Metropolitan Jewish Health System, presented Dr. Senitzky with a proclamation, “saluting his military service and for advancing the universal hope of freedom and liberty for all.”

His daughter Hannah Weiss, of Woodmere says, “My father dedicated his life to teaching, science and to making this world a better place”. She says he was a classically trained violinist who played in an orchestra that backed up Frank Sinatra at the Waldorf-Astoria. He earned is PhD in Physics, worked at Bell Labs, and taught at Polytechnic Institute in Farmingdale.

“I am so pleased that The Bristal and MJHC could honor my father the way they did,” said Hannah Weiss, “Too often our society does not properly thank our veterans until after they have died. It meant so much to him and it meant even more to me. His life impacted so many it is so appropriate that we could say thank you in such a special way.”

Dr. Senitzky has lived at The Bristal at North Woodmere since October of 2021