Greg Levenson and Norman Shulman return from Iraqi deployment. Courtesy: Norman M. Shulman.

By Norman M. Shulman, Ed.D and Dwight Gard, Ph.D.

In July 2022, Texas Tech University Press published “Love Norm: Inspiration of a Jewish American Fighter Pilot,” a multifaceted retelling of inspirational profiles of famous Jewish fighters from across history. It is also the story of how one man dug into his own past and found pieces to preserve his Jewish identity.

In 2005, Greg Levenson’s passion was to become an F-16 fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He ultimately got his “dream shot” when he was accepted into the highly selective and challenging Air Force flight training program at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma. Acutely aware of his Jewish ancestry and the attendant biases in society, Levenson soon felt like an outsider on a base of over 900 airmen, isolated and sometimes discouraged. Sensing Levenson’s despondency, Norm Shulman, Levenson’s stepfather, set out to pen an anthology of poignant and inspiring letters to encourage and affirm Levenson as he pursued his goal of becoming a fighter pilot.

Although Shulman’s initial intent was to affirm Levenson’s spiritual foundation and mitigate his isolation, he also sought to discredit a pernicious Jewish stereotype. Since the Renaissance, when Jews were first allowed to use the military as a means to assimilate into society, they were viewed with suspicion. A destructive antisemitic stereotype of disloyalty, cowardice and avoidance of military service evolved.

Shulman’s extensive research on the subject cast light on the fact that Jews often had to fight a war on two fronts – a war against pervasive antisemitism as well as the enemy.

Every week for a year, Shulman’s letters were accompanied by inspiring vignettes of Jewish combatants, men and women alike, who served their countries with distinction. The stories included members of Shulman’s and Levenson’s extended families who went against the stereotype and displayed their courage with the best of their non-Jewish peers.

As the book shows, the letters served to affirm Levenson’s Jewish identity and contributed to his success as a combat decorated F-16 pilot who protected coalition ground forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ill-intentioned attitudes and stereotypes were laid waste and Levenson proudly joined the pantheon of fellow Jews who made a difference when it counted most.