Roebling Legion marks 75th anniversary

Post 39 will mark the occasion with a banquet April 12.

By: Vanessa S. Holt
   ROEBLING — Named for Roebling World War I veterans Paul Willits and William Hogan and the first Roebling casualty during World War II, James Tonne, American Legion Post 39 is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year and will mark the occasion at a banquet on April 12.
   The Willits-Hogan-Tonne post began with 14 members and currently boasts 352 Legionnaires, some now residing as far away as Arizona, California and Truth or Consequences, N.M.
   Among today’s Legionnaires are 17 women, including Senior Vice Commander Dennise Yurcho, who served in Operation Desert Storm in the Air Force.
   While only veterans who served during a time of conflict can join the American Legion, anyone may attend the 75th anniversary celebration.
   Tickets are $30 each and reservations are required. No tickets will be sold at the door.
   The guest speaker at the 75th anniversary event will be retired Lt. Col. Michael Zahorsky, a Roebling native who served in the Army during the Vietnam era.
   Bill McGrath, a World War II veteran who served in the Marines, is a virtual storehouse of knowledge about the post and the village, recalling dates, names and historical details off the top of his head.
   At a recent meeting at the post, he remembered the Christmas parties held by the Legion for local children in the 500-capacity auditorium built by John A. Roebling’s Sons steel company.
   "We gave them a brown bag with an orange, a candy cane, and a quarter pound of hard tack," he recalled. The auditorium, located at Seventh and Main streets, is now the Roebling Firehouse.
   Members also remember the fire that destroyed the original Legion building on Fourth Avenue on New Year’s Eve, 1969. A library located on the second floor was destroyed.
   The new Legion building was constructed on the same site and stands there today, while Roebling Library is now located on Hornberger Avenue.
   To join the American Legion, veterans must have served on honorable federal active duty service in the U.S. armed forces — the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard — during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Grenada conflict, the Lebanon deployments, Operation Just Cause in Panama or Operation Desert Shield/Storm during the first Gulf War to today.
   For more information on the specific services dates used to determine eligibility, see the American Legion Web site at www.legion.org.
   Legion members serve the country in peacetime in various ways, from visiting fellow veterans in hospitals, sponsoring Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops, sponsoring contests and sports teams and working with their local community.
   The 75th anniversary celebration on April 12 begins with cocktails at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. Reservations are required and seating is limited. To reserve a seat, contact Lou Wargo, (609) 298-6653, Jerry Sandusky, (609) 499-1558 or the Post Home, (609) 499-3880.