Memorial dedicated to township’s veterans

BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer

BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer

OLD BRIDGE — A bronzed Revolutionary War soldier now watches over the parking lot at the township’s municipal center.

The new 8-foot-high statue was unveiled during a brief dedication ceremony under cloudy skies Tuesday afternoon, Veterans Day, before over 300 onlookers.

The statue, dressed in a Colonial-era military uniform and holding a rifle, is a memorial to all township residents who served in the military in both war and peacetime, according to township Councilman Edward Testino.

As president of the township’s Rotary International club, Testino spearheaded a three-year fund-raising drive that raised more than half of the $140,000 cost of creating and placing the statue.

"This memorial is meant to focus on and celebrate our veterans," Testino said as he welcomed those assembled. "This is a project three years in the making.

"To all of our veterans, this is a day in your honor," the councilman said. "This statue will stand guard over our town hall for many years to come."

The speakers at the podium included a number of former servicemen. The keynote speaker, Col. Emil H. Philibosian, deputy commissioner of veterans affairs for New Jersey, told those assembled that the Revolutionary War soldier represents the 227 years that American service personnel have fought for their country. Philibosian himself has spent 35 years as an active member of the U.S. Army and the Army Reserve.

"Veterans are the reason that America is free. Veterans are the reason America remains free," Philibosian said.

"Eighty million people have served in the military. Nearly 40 million have served in wars," Philibosian said. "Many of those who served in war died."

Philibosian presented Testino and council President Reginald Butler with an official proclamation from Gov. James E. McGreevey recognizing the service of the township’s veterans, past and present.

New Jersey has 672,000 surviving veterans, making it the state with the largest population of living service personnel, according to McGreevey’s proclamation.

Philibosian, joined by Col. Charles Emma of the N.Y. National Guard Reserve, a former U.S. Marine, and Testino, then pulled the cloth covering off the statue which was subsequently blessed by the Rev. Lawrence Wolfe from the Basilian Fathers of Mariapoch, Aberdeen Township.

Emma, a township resident who served as the master of ceremonies, noted that since 9/11 he has assisted about 2,000 reservists from throughout the country as they prepare for military duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Also in attendance was Lt. Robert Weiss of the Old Bridge Township Police Department. Weiss, a township resident, is a former U.S. Marine who served in the first Persian Gulf War in 1991.

Disabled veteran Philip Horowitz, a Rotary official, also attended as a guest of honor.

Two color guards, one from a Civil War re-enactment regiment and the other from the Old Bridge High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) came out for the ceremony. The Junior ROTC presented colors at the beginning and end of the event.

The award-winning Old Bridge High School Marching Knights, led by Frank Batsch, a staff sergeant with the N.J. National Guard dressed in full military garb, performed patriotic music.

Shannon Connolly, an Old Bridge High School junior, helped to open the ceremonies with "The Star-Spangled Banner" and closed them with "God Bless America."

The statue is an accurate representation of a soldier in the two Middlesex regiments that fought in the Revolutionary War, according to materials provided by the local Rotary Club. It was cast in bronze by the Modern Art Foundry in Long Island City, N.Y.

The Rotary is presently seeking memorabilia, such as photographs and artifacts, from the township’s veterans for placement in a time capsule, Testino said. The capsule will be buried near the new monument for an anticipated opening in 75 years, he said.

Testino thanked Mayor Barbara Cannon and the township engineering department for their assistance. He also expressed appreciation to local veterans’ organizations for their input, and anyone else who contributed to the Rotary’s fund-raising efforts.