e312efef14539cab39983e69bce6b34f.jpg

LAWRENCE: Residents turn out to honor their veterans

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Nine decades after the end of the “war to end all wars,” elected officials and township residents gathered outside the Lawrence Township Municipal Building to rededicate Mercer County’s World War I memorial Saturday morning.
   The rededication ceremony coincided with Lawrence Township’s annual Veterans Day ceremony. The monument is directly opposite the front door to the Municipal Building, off Route 206.
   The plaque was erected by the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1920 and lists the names of two Lawrence Township residents — Charles Crozier Conard and Austin P. Carter — among the 201 Mercer County residents who were killed in action during World War I. The monument also lists the names of four nurses who died during the war.
   The Mercer County World War I memorial was originally placed on the corner of Brunswick Pike and Franklin Corner Road, on the site of the present day Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge. It was moved down Brunswick Pike to Lawrence School No. 4 in 1935, and then relocated a third time to the Lawrence Township Municipal Building in 1970.
   The annual Veterans Day ceremony also honored five service members who have ties to Lawrence and who are serving in the Middle East. A yellow ribbon was tied around a tree on the front lawn at the Municipal Building for each of the five soldiers.
   Township resident Andrew Tunnard, who is a commander in the United States Navy Reserve, welcomed the guests, which included Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes and Freeholders Pat Colavita and Anthony Carabelli. He noted that Veterans Day honors the military veterans of every war fought by the United States.
   ”Today, we would like to remember and honor America’s last living World War I veteran — Frank Buckles,” Mr. Tunnard said. The West Virginia resident, who served in the U.S. Army in France, will be the last American veteran of World War I to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
   ”Frank Buckles is the last living veteran of a generation of great Americans, partially represented by the names on (the Mercer County World War I Memorial), that transformed the 20th century,” Mr. Tunnard said.
   One of the names on that monument from Lawrence Township is Charles Crozier Conard, Mr. Tunnard said. Mr. Conard served in the Army and was killed in action at the Battle of the Argonne Forest in France in 1918. Mr. Tunnard acknowledged the presence of Lawrence resident Chris Boutote, whose wife is a great-great grandniece of Mr. Conard.
   Standing in for Mayor Mark Holmes, Councilwoman Pam Mount welcomed the audience members to the annual Veterans Day ceremony. Lawrence has a strong connection to the military, she said, reminding the audience of the New Jersey Army National Guard Armory on Eggerts Crossing Road.
   ”Many soldiers and sailors and airmen are serving right now, and it is important to them that we remember them,” Ms. Mount said, adding that her son, Army Sgt. Mark Mount, recently returned from his third tour of duty in Afghanistan.
   Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes also acknowledged the veterans and said residents value them for their courage and willingness to fight for democracy and the liberties that Americans enjoy.
   Mr. Hughes said Mr. Conard and James J. Hewitt, a Trenton resident who was killed in action at the same Battle of the Argonne Forest in 1918, did not receive the Medal of Honor or reached the highest rank in the military. They fought battles and did what they had to do, he said.
   Many veterans have gone on to high-ranking civilian jobs, but there were many who gave up their youth, their lives and their prosperity, he said. They did it for the “great love of our country,” he said.
   Then it was time for James J. Hewitt, a former Lawrence resident and police office, to speak about his uncle — the first James J. Hewitt, whose name is on the Mercer County World War I Memorial. The younger Mr. Hewitt was named for his uncle, who died one year before the younger man was born.
   Mr. Hewitt, who was a private in the Army, was struck in the chest by shrapnel and died before he could be evacuated, his nephew said. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Trenton.
   The younger Mr. Hewitt also enlisted in the Army and he was present at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked the military base. Mr. Hewitt returned after the war to Lawrence Township, where he married and raised a family. His son served in the Navy for 23 years and is now retired.
   Toward the end of his remarks, Mr. Hewitt, who is confined to a wheelchair, put on the World War I helmet worn by his uncle. Mr. Hewitt said he was wearing that helmet on the day at Pearl Harbor “when the Japanese Navy tried to wipe me out.”
   Then, one by one, yellow ribbons were tied on a tree on the front lawn of the Municipal Building — each one representing a Lawrence resident who is serving in the military.
   Phyllis Warren tied a ribbon to the tree for her son, 2nd Lt. Joshua Warren, while Arlene Snedeker tied a ribbon on the tree for her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Clifford W. Snedeker Jr. Both men are serving in the New Jersey Army National Guard.
   Councilwoman Mount put a ribbon on the tree for CW2 Joseph Parsons, who is serving in the Army, and Councilman Bob Bostock put a ribbon on the tree for Lance Cpl. Benjamin Turansky of the Marine Corps.
   Councilman Rick Miller tied a ribbon on the tree for Master Sgt. Georgino Gonzalez, who is serving in the Army.