Local Veterans honored at ceremony
By: Marisa Maldonado
EAST WINDSOR For some, Veterans Day is a chance to learn about sacrifices made by soldiers in previous battles. That’s what local veterans hope others can get from the day.
For those with the closest connection to the military, Veterans Day allows them to reflect on the sacrifices they made and the friends they lost in combat.
Some of the names of deceased veterans on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. belong to colleagues of Hamilton resident Bob Sabol, a retired member of the Marine Corps. He said Wednesday that he’ll be thinking of them today.
"I lost quite a few buddies in Vietnam," Mr. Sabol said. "You don’t forget about that."
Sitting at the bar in the American Legion building on Route 130, Mr. Sabol was far removed from northern Vietnam, where he served from 1966 to 1969. The Hamilton resident escaped uninjured but remembers the sacrifice made by his friends.
The veteran said he remains in touch with several other Vietnam veterans, who are scattered across the country. He said they share a special bond because of their time in combat.
But he doesn’t like to talk about his war experiences, a position he shares with many veterans. The people who do speak publicly about the war, he said, are mostly nonveterans who do not have their facts straight.
"Sometimes I feel like saying, ‘You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about," Mr. Sabol said. "Let it lay."
Sitting next to Mr. Sabol in the Post 148 building was John Getto, a retired member of the Navy. The East Windsor resident served from 1958 to 1959, a time without armed conflict.
"I was in peacetime, so (the holiday) wouldn’t have as much meaning for me," said Mr. Jatto.
Hightstown resident Maureen Walmsley, the daytime bartender at the American Legion, said she lost several friends in the Vietnam war and knows many other veterans. She said they should be honored by having a paid vacation from work on the holiday.
"(They should have work off) to be honored for their service and trying to save our nation," she said.
Ms. Walmsley said she will be at a ceremony Friday at the American Legion, 895 Route 130 in East Windsor, to honor soldiers. The remembrance, which will start at 11 a.m., includes the raising of the American flag and a prayer for soldiers.
"I’m always here, whether I work or not, on Veterans Day to thank them," she said.
Although there are many who are grateful for veterans’ sacrifices, Mr. Sabol said, most younger people are not as familiar with the military, Mr. Sabol said. He thinks the draft should be reinstated to give them a better sense of military service.
And although he declined to comment on the war in Iraq, he said a draft would serve a practical purpose in fighting that conflict.
"With all our troops that are over there, we need to bring the draft back," he said.

