banners to families
of service personnel
American Legion gives
banners to families
of service personnel
By karl vilacoba
Staff Writer
KARL VILACOBA Families of armed services personnel received the Blue Star Service Banner from Frank Staknys (r) of American Legion Post 348, Brick, during last week’s Township Council meeting. Laura Smith, pictured with daughter Erin, council President Kimberley Casten and Staknys, accepted the honor on behalf of her husband, Police Officer Donald Smith, of the New Jersey Air National Guard 108th Air Refueling Wing, which was scheduled for deployment to the Persian Gulf.
American Legion member Frank Staknys had a message for those at last week’s Township Council meeting: Support our troops, whether or not you support their mission.
On behalf of Brick’s American Legion Post 348, Staknys presented a Blue Star Service Banner to families of armed forces members on active duty. The families of about a half-dozen local soldiers attended the ceremony.
The banner’s roots go back to World War I, when it was patented. It was originally a symbol of having a child in the service.
The Blue Star Service Banner is 8.5-by-14-inch white field with a blue star sewn onto a red banner. The star is meant to symbolize a family member in the service. Each banner can hold up to five stars, which would signify having five family members in active duty.
Staknys said interest in the banner has experienced a resurgence as of late, although its popularity waned around the time of the Korean War, which he served in as a Navy medic. Today, Staknys splits his time as a piano player at local restaurants and department vice commander of the American Legion in New Jersey. His territory covers Cape May, Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean counties.
Brick’s Post 348 has quickly run out of the 20 or so banners it had, but 30 more are expected to arrive this month. Staknys is pleased with the sudden demand, which he attributes to the popularity of its cause.
"Our troops are there so a Pearl Harbor or a 9/11 will never again happen in our territory," Staknys said. "We are united in Brick."
For Barbara Adams, this exhibition of unity was a reassuring and emotional respite from the daily reports of protests against Operation Iraqi Freedom. Her son, 1st Lt. Ernest "Ed" Adams, returned to the United States for a brief period after serving in Afghanistan but is now fighting in Iraq.
"I get so upset when I see these people protesting. You have to stand by our troops, no matter what you feel," Adams said.
Adams has not heard from her son since Feb. 24, when his mission necessitated a break from contact with home. She has followed any news she could gather of his Marine battalion and read reports about their presence in a battle last week.
It has been an intense time for the mothers and family members of servicemen like Adams. The unprecedented media access to Iraq’s battlefields and contested cities is simultaneously excruciating to watch, but impossible to ignore when you have a son there, she said.
"Every time I hear about Marines getting killed, I panic," Adams said. "I want to watch to see what’s happening, but I get so emotional."
The Blue Star Service Banner ceremony visibly moved many in attendance. Mothers, parents, wives and children alike were called up one at a time to receive their banners from Staknys, Mayor Joseph Scarpelli and a teary-eyed council President Kimberley Casten.
"My husband served in Vietnam. At the time, I was a young wife with a 2-month-old baby, so my heart goes out to [the families]," said Councilwoman Kathy Russell.
Scarpelli also made a point to recognize members of the government in attendance who served in the armed forces: councilmen Stephen Acropolis (Air Force) and Gregory Kavanagh (Navy) and Township Attorney Charles Starkey (Marines).
The Brick Township Special Events Office is running two additional programs to support the service members.
In a joint effort with the Board of Education, the township is collecting phone cards, lip balm, lotions, hard candies, gum, eye drops, toiletries and disposable cameras to send to the troops. Collection barrels will be located in the municipal building and school lobbies through April 17. All supplies will be distributed through the American Red Cross.
The township is also seeking the names and photos of Brick residents currently serving on active duty in the armed forces to feature on a Wall of Honor at the municipal building. For information on these township programs, call (732) 262-1006.
For more information about the Blue Star Service Banner, call Frank Staknys at (732) 840-8747.