SOMERS POINT — Naval history is a big deal in Somers Point, a city whose namesake son died fighting for the fledgling U.S. Navy off the coast of Tripoli during the Barbary Wars.
Efforts to repatriate the remains of Master Commandant Richard Somers, who was killed while leading a fireship attack in 1804, continue to this day.
Paying tribute to the sea squadron is not limited to the heroics of Somers, who was born Sept. 15, 1778, and is honored each year on Richard Somers Day.
The city that likes nothing better than celebrating its military veterans also has a monument honoring the silent service and the War of 1812, when the young United States stood up proudly to the greatest naval power in the world.
It’s that monument that has gained the attention of a group of veterans who now are planning to refurbish Somers Point’s War of 1812 monument on the beach at New Jersey Avenue.
Mayor Jack Glasser said he and a couple of other veterans noticed it “has really had better times” while taking part in the Pearl Harbor ceremony in December.
He said he, Tom Innocente (commander of the Egg Harbor Township branch of United States Submarine Veterans Inc.) and Freddy Vineyard (first vice commander of AMVETS Post 911) started discussing what could be done to improve the memorial.
“We are going to do something about it,” Glasser said, noting the first step is to have a plan of action.
The mayor, who works as a security guard at Atlantic County Institute of Technology, has arranged for students in the school’s computer aided design class to submit ideas to the Veterans Advisory Board for approval. The plan eventually would need City Council’s blessing.
“We are on the move with this. We want to fix this up,” Glasser said, noting there was a sand fort at the site used to protect Great Egg Harbor River when Mays Landing was a hub of shipping for the area.
The monument, erected in 1923 by the Century Chapter National Society United States Daughters of 1812, is a tribute to the volunteers who built and defended the sand fort from 1812-15.
Among the other tributes to veterans in Somers Point is a memorial to Oscar Schmidt Jr., a World War I Medal of Honor recipient, the Submarine Veterans Memorial and the all-wars memorial at Patriot Park.
The city also has chapters and auxiliaries of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, Korean and Vietnam veterans and Legion Riders all active in the city, as well as a state AMVETS office.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
