Somers Point: We didn’t serve for a ‘thank you’
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK
Sentinel staff
SOMERS POINT — Local, county, state and federal officials gathered with veterans advocates and the public Wednesday, Nov. 11, to mark Veterans Day at Patriots Park in Somers Point.
Robert Frolow, commander of American Legion Post 352 and county veterans service officer, opened the ceremony by requesting a moment of silence for veterans who gave their lives for their country, since the city did not have a chance to hold a Memorial Day ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“With the coronavirus going around, people are afraid,” Frolow said. “But I look around here and we should be here, and God bless us for being here. Our veterans deserve the recognition, and hopefully the coronavirus will be gone soon.”
Mayor Jack Glasser served as the emcee, introducing the visiting dignitaries who were scheduled to speak.
Glasser said he gathered with Frolow, whom he called “one of the backbones behind the veterans organizations in Somers Point,” Fred Vineyard, Tom Innocente, Ron Bird and Marco Polo Smigliani and “decided we needed, absolutely needed, to have a Veterans Day service this year.”
U.S. Navy Chief Warrant Officer Harry Jadick, who specializes in submarine ordnance and is based out of the Strategic Systems Programs Conventional Prompt Strike Office, was the guest speaker.
He said he has been in the Navy for 22 years, serving on four submarines and numerous shore detachments.
“I am both humbled and privileged to be standing before you today as your guest speaker as we honor our nation’s veterans,” Jadick said.
He went on to give a history of Veterans Day, saying everyone in the military has a story to tell about why they entered.
“For some, we were volunteers, others had nothing better to do, and even others it was a family tradition,” Jadick said. “Whatever the story was, I will say that not one of us did it because we thought someone would eventually say thank you. It’s important to remember that our veterans defend us for 365 days a year. The heroism and dedication to duty that has been demonstrated by veterans from the American Revolution to the global war on terrorism many times goes unnoticed by those of us who enjoy the security that their sacrifice has provided.”
He noted that the sacrifices made by veterans include more than risking life and limb, but extend to spouses, parents, children.
“Most veterans will tell you that our nation is important. Important enough to endure long separations from their families, miss the important events like the births of their children, the first steps, a graduation, a marriage or a funeral, all while often serving in areas that are sub-zero temperatures, baking in the desert or isolated from the world on or in the depths of the ocean serving on our Navy’s ships and submarines. Many are wounded, lose limbs, some lose their lives, and the worst of all, some lose their souls and only make their way back physically,” he told those gathered.
“This is why we say thank you because those who defend this nation from its enemies need the support and gratitude from the people of the nation that they protect,” he added.
Glasser introduced “three people who mean so much to the veterans community”: U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, state Sen. Chris Brown and Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson.
Calling himself “stronger and tougher now than I ever was in my life,” Van Drew said he will support veterans as long as he is in office.
“I will stand with you and we will stand together, shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm for all the men and women who serve in the military, for all of the men and women who serve as our first responders,” Van Drew said.
Brown, whom Glasser called “a person who has walked the walk, talked the talk and went to war for us,” said it is important to recognize “all of those who year in and year out do so much.”
He told the story of “wounded warrior Adam Fleck.”
“He was deployed seven times, blown up about four times, and the last time he got blown up it was really bad — as if you can get blown up three other times and it’s not so bad but this guy did — he only talked about the last one though as really bad, and he said he was down, he was down emotionally, he was down spiritually and, obviously, he was down physically.
“And he was down because he was getting the feeling that in America life was just going on and that nobody cares, and what was the point of me being over there fighting for everybody if the media doesn’t cover it, nobody gives credit to what we are doing? You have somebody who has 14 different genders and they get citizen of the year and you have other people who have gone and fought and they wind up not getting that type of recognition.
“He shared that when he came home from one of his tough deployments and he was down, when Atlantic County families came out to say thank you and let him know that he mattered and that you cared, you renewed his spirit, you renewed his energy and you renewed his belief in us and everything that we stand for.”
Calling Somers Point “the most patriotic town in Atlantic County, Levinson called out “left-wing radicals that have ruined much of the world that they took over.”
“Our congressman talked about American exceptionalism. What makes us exceptional? When that question is asked, many people will answer and say, ‘well, it’s our diversity.’ Diversity does not make us exceptional. It’s a wonderful thing and we accept it. But what is it that makes us so incredibly successful? It’s what each and every one of you that served swears to defend — the Constitution of the United States. That’s what separates us from the rest of the world. That’s what makes us different.”
Upper Township: Veterans protect our rights
By BILL BARLOW
Special to the Sentinel
UPPER TOWNSHIP – The rain held off until the afternoon on Tuesday, Nov. 11, as veterans, officials and residents of Osprey Point gathered on an unseasonably warm Veterans Day to honor those who served their country.
Osprey Point resident Joe Basile was honored at the event for his service during the Korean War from the government of South Korea, describing him as “an ambassador of peace.”
Mayor Rich Palombo presented Basile with the award as James Joyce read the proclamation.
“Sgt. Joe Basile, front and center,” he said. Basile served in Japan in an intelligence unit during the war, according to Joyce. The award stated the Republic of Korea’s thanks for what Basile and his countrymen did to restore and preserve freedom and democracy, Joyce read.
“We cherish in our hearts the memory of your boundless sacrifices in helping us reestablish our free nation,” he read on behalf of the Korean government. “Let us each reaffirm our mutual respect and friendship, that they may endure for generations.”
The event included patriotic songs, a rifle salute and extensive comments by guest speaker Joseph Griffies, a Vietnam veteran, and advocate for veterans and the host of “Welcome Home,” a radio show for and about veterans on WIBG radio.
Griffies described the park where the service took place, named for Sgt. William Godfrey, as sacred ground.
“Can everybody check their shoes? See if you have blood on them?” he said. “Because blood was shed.”
Griffies said American soldiers, sailors and other service members are the reason Americans have the right to vote, adding that young men sent to Vietnam at the age of 18 could not yet vote at that time. As he put it, the government took a stick-ball bat out of their hands and gave them an M-16 rifle or other weapon.
“I don’t want to get political, but we are worried about ballots, mail-in ballots,” he said. “No other person in the world, in this country, gave us the freedom to vote, except our veterans. Many died for it.”
He also asked veterans in the crowd to raise their hands, and thanked them for their service.
Griffies talked about several American veterans, starting with praise for George Washington.
“I think he would be very upset if he saw how veterans were treated today,” he said.
Griffies spoke about Sea Isle City resident Theresa Tull, a former Ambassador to Brunei and Guyana. He spoke of her time with the U.S. Consulate in Da Nang in Vietnam and her work during the fall of Saigon.
He spoke of other veterans and supporters of veterans that he has interviewed on his radio show, including many women. He also spoke of the ongoing issue of homeless veterans and veteran suicides.
“Shame on us,” he said.
Griffies mentioned plans to open a veterans clinic in Rio Grande, saying many are happy about it. But he suggested it took too long.
“It took 52 years. You opened the Tractor Supply before the VA clinic,” he said.
The event was well attended, with most of those present wearing masks to reduce the risk of infection with COVID-19. An unusual sight for Veterans Day, many wore shorts and T-shirts as temperatures hovered around 70.
At the park, multiple flags stood in a line around the center flagpole, part of the Flags for Heroes installation presented by the Rotary Club of Ocean City and Upper Township.
Bob Wurtz led the crowd in singing “The Star Spangled Banner” and other patriotic songs.
Tuckahoe American Legion Post 239 Commander John Olansen and Osprey Point president Ron Collins presented a wreath as part of the service.
Members of Marmora VFW Post 869 fired a rifle salute and Osprey Point resident Regina Joyce read a list of current and former residents of the community who served in the military.
She and James Joyce presented a flag that flew on the central flagpole in honor of her father, Army Cpl. Frank Crognale, who joined in 1940 and participated in the invasion of North Africa. He was wounded and received the Bronze Star. After the war, he worked for the U.S. Postal Service.
Mayor Rich Palombo saluted those who put on a uniform to protect the country.
“We owe so much to all of those individuals,” he said. “Whether they have been in battle or they haven’t, they still had one thing in mind, and that is the protection of our country and the protection of our freedom, and the protection of all of us.”
Ocean City: We must remember the sacrices
By DAVID NAHAN
Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – A crowd gathered at the Ocean City Tabernacle late Wednesday morning, Nov. 11, in honor of Veterans Day.
Many veterans were in the crowd that was spread out in the auditorium because of COVID-19 safety precautions, but there were far more people who were there to show their appreciation.
As Ed Ferraro, chaplain of VFW Post 6650 in Ocean City, said during the invocation, the community was honoring the great men and women who died protecting our freedoms. Throughout the history of our great nation men and women have stepped forward to serve our country and make the ultimate sacrifice, Ferraro said. Remember, he added, there is no greater love than those who lay down their lives for a friend or their country.”
Acknowledging the restrictions on the ceremony, Mayor Jay Gillian pointed out 2020 has been a difficult year with many small sacrifices, “but our veterans have sacrificed much more. That is why we’re here today, to celebrate the bravery of these men and women. Without that, we would not enjoy all the things that make our country so strong.”
He recognized the leadership of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts.
Naming Mike Morrissey and Robert Marzulli, he said they do so much for local veterans and the community. He also remembered James (J.R.) Robinson, a member of the VFW post who died the week before. Gillian noted he was a regular at the boardwalk flag-raising ceremony and earned two Purple Hearts and other honors for his service during the Vietnam War. He asked for a moment of silence for Robinson and the other veterans the community lost in the past year.
Gillian said it is important, especially today, with everything that is going on, to honor those who have sacrificed for this country. Quoting Winston Churchill, he said, “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Marzulli, commander of Ocean City’s American Legion Post 524, noted that the day before the ceremony was the 245th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps, which gave him a chance to talk to his friends from boot camp and infantry training back in 1970.
“After all these years, we still have one thing in common. And that was our commitment to our country,” Marzulli said. He added they talked about the two years they spent together and how many of their comrades were long gone, but they still reminisce about them.
“I can tell you that after all these years, we are still here to help each other out because that is what veterans do,” he said. “Veterans helping veterans. It is inbred in us. So today and every day, remember to thank a veteran for their service. It was not so long ago that veterans chose to give the United States of America all we had to give.”
Morrissey, commandant of the VFW Post 6650, spent most of his talk providing a description of a “military man in 1968.” (See related story.)
“It’s a great feeling to know everyone with us today comes here knowing we kneel before God and we proudly stand for our flag,” he said, while also thanking the police and fire departments for all they do for the community.
“Today our nation honors the contributions and sacrifices of the nearly 22 million veterans living today,” he said, “and all those who made the ultimate sacrifices in the name of liberty and justice.
“History has provided us with extraordinary examples of their selfless deeds. Our veterans have brought hope, faith and liberty to millions of people around the world. The number of people who have benefited cannot be calculated. Today is not a day for veterans alone. It is a day for all Americans to be part of because we all have a role to play in protecting liberty and freedom,” Morrissey said.
He also acknowledged those in the audience.
Being present at the ceremony, Morrissey said, “provides meaningful proof that you appreciate the fact the freedom you enjoy today is not free. We must always remember the sacrifices military personnel have made to become veterans.”
Russ Schneider, chaplain of American Legion Post 524, in his benediction, reminded everyone of the cost of being free and asked for national unity.
In his prayer, he said, “Use your mighty powers to unite this country and heal all of our differences. This is so needed today. Help each of us to prepare a way so all future generations continue to volunteer to protect America and the American way of life. Freedom isn’t free.”
Julia Mary Wilson sang beautiful renditions of the national anthem and “God Bless America.”
Larry Kelly, an American Legion member and Air Force veteran during Vietnam, and U.S. Marine Clark Manley conducted the laying of the wreath during the ceremony.
