Oakdale Cemetery - Hebrew Cemetery - Grave of Arthur Bluethenthal.

The Hebrew Cemetery at Oakdale is enclosed with an iron gate and fence and was opened on March 6, 1855. Prior to this time, Wilmington's Jewish community had to be buried in Charleston if they wanted to be buried in consecrated ground. At center, is the grave of Arthur Bluethenthal, (1891-1918), a member of the Lafayette Escadrille, who was shot down in France during World War I. He was the first Wilmingtonian to die in the war. New Hanover County Airport was once called Bluethenthal Field in his honor. A swastika is on the bronze tablet on his tombstone, which was a insignia of the Escadrille. It is ironic that the symbol is on Bluethenthal's grave, since he was Jewish. Events in Germany during the 1930s and 1940s made the swastika a terrible symbol for the Holocaust. (Also see #101) (Also see #10 for more about Oakdale Cemetery).

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