Memorial Day weekend means more than cookouts, start-of-summer celebrations and the Indianapolis 500
It is sometimes easy to lose sight of why certain things are commemorated, especially when a national holiday coincides with a prelude to fun times ahead. Memorial Day is always the fourth Monday in May, and while it serves as an extended weekend for many workers, a sign that school is nearly over for most students, and the unofficial start to summer for everyone else, its true meaning since its May 1866 inception as Decoration Day is honoring the men and women who died in military service to the United States.
Most American Legion halls, Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, and civic groups in southern New Jersey and throughout the nation will be hosting ceremonies during the Memorial Day weekend, May 23-26, to honor those who paid the ultimate price. A few are detailed below, and shortly after the holiday weekend has ended, the city of Somers Point will be privileged to host the Vietnam Moving Wall, which was last in the area nine years ago at the Atlantic City Race Course in Mays Landing. A replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., the Moving Wall contains all 58,256 names of those Americans who perished in the Vietnam War, and will be placed at the ball field across from Bethel Road in Somers Point from June 5-9. Guards will stand sentry beside the wall 24 hours per day for the five days it is in the city.
"[Somers Point VFW Post 2189] Commander Fred Vineyard put in an application, and we were fortunate enough to have been chosen over 53 other cities," says Bob Frolow, commander-elect of Post 2189 and the director of Atlantic County Veterans Services. "We needed to raise $10,000 to make this happen, and were able to through some great fundraisers and the support of a lot of good people."
Help is still being sought, says Frolow, so if you are interested in volunteering your services for the Moving Wall, contact Jim Donahue at 412-7769.
Col. Anthony M. La Sure, the maintenance group commander of the 177th Fighter Wing N.J. Air National Guard, will deliver the keynote address Friday, May 23, during the 24th annual Atlantic County Veterans Memorial program. The ceremonies will take place at the county's Veterans Cemetery on Rt. 50 in Estell Manor at 3pm, and will feature honor guards, bagpipers and buglers, and the traditional presentation of the memorial wreath.
The annual Egg Harbor City Memorial Day parade and ceremonies will take place Monday, May 26. The parade starts in front of the Fanny D. Rittenberg School on Philadelphia Avenue at 9am, and ends at the Lincoln Park Cemetery where remembrances will begin around 10am. The featured speaker will be James Hall Sr., honorary commander of Fort Dix and the chairman of the N.J. Elks Army of Hope. His son, James Hall Jr., just completed his second tour in Iraq and will be retiring Aug. 31 with 25 years service to the nation. Trumpeters John Greaux and Carrie Carner, seniors at Absegami High, will perform during the ceremonies.
Galloway Township VFW Post 10620 and American Legion Post 420 will host a parade and ceremonies beginning 10:30am Monday at the Legion hall on the White Horse Pike. The keynote speaker will be VFW Commander Leonard Long, an 85-year-old World War II veteran and chaplain of VFW District 16.
Absecon Legion Post 28 and VFW Post 9462 will be hosting full Memorial Day ceremonies including a parade starting 9:30am Monday at the Legion Hall on New Jersey Avenue and Mill Road, and a 21-gun salute.
Brigantine American Legion Post 396 will host a parade beginning 1pm Sunday in front of the Legion Hall on Brigantine Boulevard and 32nd Street, and continuing to the city's memorial plot on Revere Blvd. There will be a U.S. Coast Guard flyover, presentation of memorial wreathes, and special guest speakers according to Post 396 Commander Otto Harazim, a retired U.S. Navy chief petty officer.
Somers Point VFW Post 2189 and American Legion Post 352 will host a parade and ceremonies beginning 9am Monday on Dawes Avenue, heading up Shore Road toward New York Avenue, and ending at the city's Memorial Park.
In 2009, the American Idols Tour played at Boardwalk Hall, a 12,000-seat venue. This year, the show is taking place at the much smaller Mark G. Etess Arena at the Trump Taj Mahal this Saturday.
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