Rabbi Chaplain Simeon Kobrinetz (1928-2011), born in Brooklyn, New York, was the first rabbi to attain general officer rank in the United States military. He graduated from Columbia University, studied at Yeshiva University, and earned a Ph.D. from the Jewish Technological Seminary. In 1970, after serving as Hillel Director at the University of Florida and the University of Miami, he served as national chaplain of the Department of Veterans' Affairs, including rising to president from 1976-1978. At the time of his death, He was also president of the Jewish War Veterans. Rabbi Kobrinetz led the campaign to establish Chaplain's Hill as a memorial to fallen Jewish chaplains.