By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Wanted: The names of a few good soldiers, sailors and airmen with Lawrence ties serving in Afghanistan or Iraq, so their contributions can be acknowledged by Lawrence Township.
That’s what the Lawrence Township Spirit and Patriotic Committee and the Lawrence Township Recreation Department are seeking between now and the Nov. 8 ceremony, said Steven Groeger, the township’s superintendent of recreation.
But it’s not only the names of current military service members that is being sought, Mr. Groeger said. The two groups also are seeking descendents of three Lawrence residents who died during World War I, in honor of the 90th anniversary of the end of that war.
Turning to the current service members, Mr. Groeger said the goal is to compile a list of names of active duty servicemen and servicewomen and put their names on a yellow ribbon that would be tied to a tree on the front lawn of the Municipal Building.
Family members or township representatives would tie the ribbon to the tree at the township’s Veterans Day ceremony next month, and then the family could remove the ribbon when the serviceman or servicewoman comes home, he said.
”We need to know who these individuals are,” he said. “We want them to know the community is concerned about them and that the community cares and appreciates what they are doing.”
The list of active duty servicemen and servicewomen would include the name, rank, unit and branch of the military for a card that would be kept by the Recreation Department, Mr. Groeger said. He emphasized that township officials would respect families’ privacy concerns and that the information would not be used for any other purpose.
Seeking to cast a broad net, Mr. Groeger said the Veterans Day organizers are seeking military service members who grew up in Lawrence or who lived in Lawrence when they graduated from high school — whether it was from Lawrence High School or a private school.
The service member’s family may still live in Lawrence or the family may have moved out of town, Mr. Groeger said. Regardless of where the service member’s family lives now, the organizers want to know about that service member so he or she can be honored.
Township residents who have an extended family member serving in Afghanistan or Iraq also may place a ribbon on the tree honoring that person, Mr. Groeger said. It could be a cousin or a grandchild or an aunt or uncle. It doesn’t matter whether the service member had ever lived in Lawrence, he added.
In addition to recognizing military service members who are stationed in Afghanistan or Iraq, the Veterans Day organizers are seeking descendents of the World War I veterans whose names are listed on a monument in front of the Municipal Building.
Lawrence residents Jasper Allen, Austin Carter and Charles Conard were killed during World War I. Their names are included among the 201 soldiers and sailors and four nurses from Mercer County who died during the first world war, he said.
”We have been trying to find the descendents of the three people so they could be here as part of the program,” Mr. Groeger said. “It would be neat to find someone related to them. We want to pay tribute to (the World War I soldiers and sailors).”
For more information, contact Mr. Groeger at 609-844-7067 weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or by e-mail at [email protected].

