Operation Benjamin

What Operation Benjamin does

Operation Benjamin, Inc. is a U.S. 501(c)-style nonprofit organization incorporated in New York (EIN 37-1944137) and headquartered at PO Box 128, Monticello, NY. Founded in 2018 and named for Private Benjamin Garadetsky — a Jewish soldier mistakenly buried under a Latin Cross at the Normandy American Cemetery whose marker change was the organization's first successful case — the organization identifies American Jewish servicemen from World War I and World War II buried under Latin Crosses at American military cemeteries and facilitates replacement of those markers with Stars of David. All services are provided at no cost to families, with final determinations made by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), the U.S. federal agency that maintains foreign military cemeteries.

The organization operates three interconnected offerings: a core Headstone Replacement Program tied to ABMC, the Operation Levi program (a joint initiative with the German War Graves Commission, Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, focused on German Jewish WWI soldiers), and a Headstone Inquiry Form for family-initiated cases. The underlying methodology combines cross-referenced archival work — German war records, ABMC records, and Jewish genealogical databases — with DNA-analysis coordination performed by partner laboratories such as Bode Technology under the supervision of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and university anthropologists (University of Marseille, University of Wisconsin). The Baskind case (DPAA confirmation May 10, 2024; interment June 23, 2024) is the organization's flagship demonstration of this end-to-end capability.

Operation Benjamin is funded exclusively through charitable giving: one-time and recurring individual donations via the Network for Good platform, appreciated stock/mutual fund/ETF gifts (DTC-transferred through LPL Corporation), and IRA charitable distributions for donors over 70½. Major institutional support includes the Alfred Landecker Foundation for Operation Levi. The organization maintains a small operating footprint — a single mailing address and a single general phone line — and directs its outreach through social media, video content, earned media, and direct engagement with the Jewish genealogical community.

Name

Operation Benjamin

Legal name

Operation Benjamin, Inc.

Website

https://operationbenjamin.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Operation Benjamin is a U.S. nonprofit that identifies Jewish servicemen from WWI and WWII mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses and facilitates replacement of their headstones with Stars of David, working in partnership with the ABMC and, via Operation Levi, the German War Graves Commission. All services are free to families.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Accepts donations from individuals including one-time and recurring contributions through their Network for Good donation portal.
2. Stock/ETF Donations: Accepts gifts of appreciated stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs. Donors may receive a tax deduction for the full value and avoid capital gains tax. Uses DTC transfer through LPL Corporation.
3. IRA Charitable Distributions: For donors over 70 1/2 years old, allows direct Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) from IRA to the organization without paying taxes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Operation Benjamin identifies Jewish American servicemen and women from WWI and WWII who were mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses at American military cemeteries worldwide and, in partnership with the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), replaces their headstones with Stars of David. Through its Operation Levi program, it extends this same identification-and-replacement work to German Jewish WWI soldiers in cooperation with the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund). All services are provided at no cost to the families of the fallen.

Product overview

Operation Benjamin is a non-profit memorial organization offering two interconnected programs: its core Headstone Replacement Program identifies Jewish American WWI and WWII soldiers at American military cemeteries worldwide who were mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses and replaces the markers with Stars of David through partnership with the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). Through Operation Levi, a joint initiative with the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund), the organization extends this mission to German Jewish WWI soldiers buried under incorrect markers. The organization also provides a Headstone Inquiry Form as a service tool for families to request investigations. All services are provided at no cost to families.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Operation Levi: A program of the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund) in cooperation with Operation Benjamin to identify German Jewish soldiers killed in WWI fighting for Germany and mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses.

Products and services

• Headstone Replacement Program Operation Benjamin's core program, delivered in partnership with the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), which identifies Jewish American WWI and WWII soldiers mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses at American military cemeteries worldwide and replaces the headstones with Stars of David at no cost to families.
• Operation Levi A joint program with the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund) that identifies German Jewish soldiers from WWI buried under Latin Crosses at German military cemeteries and replaces their headstones with Stars of David.
• Headstone Inquiry Form A web-based intake form on the Operation Benjamin website that lets families submit inquiries about a Jewish serviceman who may be buried under an incorrect marker, enabling the organization to initiate an investigation and potential headstone correction.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully identified Nathan Baskind through DNA analysis and repatriated his remains with full military honors on the 80th anniversary of his death.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Volksbund is the German War Graves Commission. Operation Benjamin partnered with them on Operation Levi to identify German Jewish WWI soldiers buried under Latin Crosses and replace headstones with Stars of David at German military cemeteries.
• American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023ABMC is the US federal agency charged with maintaining US military foreign cemeteries. Operation Benjamin works hand in hand with ABMC to ensure accurate headstones at American military cemeteries. The organizations collaborated on the Nathan Baskind repatriation ceremony at Normandy American Cemetery.
• Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUS government agency that confirmed Nathan Baskind's identification through DNA analysis. Release of confirmation was on May 10, 2024.
• PFC Lawrence Gordon FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation that had been aware that Nathan Baskind was likely in a mass grave at Marigny and brought this to the attention of the German War Graves Commission.
• University of Marseille AnthropologistssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnthropologists involved in the exhumation and analysis work for the Nathan Baskind case.
• University of Wisconsin AnthropologistssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnthropologists involved in the exhumation and analysis work for the Nathan Baskind case.
• Bode TechnologysupportingTechnology or IntegrationDNA laboratory that conducted DNA analysis for Nathan Baskind identification.
• Office national des anciens combattants et victimes de guerre (ONACVG)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench national office for war veterans that played a critical role in Nathan Baskind repatriation efforts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Organization maintaining memorials for Commonwealth military dead from the two World Wars. Operates in the same cemetery and war-remembrance space as Operation Benjamin, including in some of the same European cemeteries, but for a different set of nationalities.

Broad incumbents

• American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC): U.S. federal agency that maintains American military cemeteries abroad and commemorates U.S. armed forces where they served. ABMC is both partner and the governing authority for headstone changes at American cemeteries, giving it broad operational overlap with Operation Benjamin's mission.
• US Holocaust Memorial Museum: U.S. federal institution dedicated to documenting, studying, and interpreting the Holocaust. Adjacent mission focused on Jewish victims of Nazi-era persecution, with comparable educational and commemorative functions though at a much larger institutional scale.
• Yad Vashem: Israel's official Holocaust memorial and research center. Shares the broader mission of commemorating Jewish victims of 20th-century conflict and preserving accurate historical memory, though at a vastly larger institutional scale and broader scope.
• Simon Wiesenthal Center: Jewish human rights organization focused on Holocaust remembrance, education, and combating antisemitism. Comparable as a Jewish non-profit working on historical memory and identity-related issues, though with a broader educational and advocacy mandate.

Direct peers

• Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge: Germany's official war graves commission, now Operation Benjamin's joint partner on Operation Levi. It maintains German military cemeteries worldwide and shares the closest operational overlap in identifying German war dead, though it operates on a much larger scale.
• Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA): U.S. government agency that identifies and repatriates missing American service members, including through DNA analysis. DPAA confirmed the identification of 1LT Nathan Baskind for Operation Benjamin, making it the closest functional peer in military remains identification.
• International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP): Intergovernmental organization that uses DNA matching and forensic science to locate and identify persons missing from conflict, disasters, and human rights abuses. Comparable in its DNA-based identification methodology applied to deceased persons from conflict contexts.

Emerging players

• Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America: Long-standing U.S. veterans organization representing Jewish Americans who have served in the U.S. armed forces. Overlaps with Operation Benjamin's mission of honoring Jewish military service, though it is membership-based and advocacy-focused rather than cemetery-restoration-focused.

Regional players

• German Red Cross Tracing Service: Humanitarian genealogical service that reunites families and traces persons separated by war or displacement. Comparable methodology for locating descendants and verifying identities across European records, though focused on broader humanitarian tracing rather than military headstone correction.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/OperBenjamin
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCeyl3cDAWWha4gURwAAsiFA
• Facebookfacebook.com/OperBenjamin
• Instagraminstagram.com/operbenjamin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Operation Benjamin