Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo addresses members of the Margaret L. Vetter Elementary School community during a June 14 farewell ceremony for children of military personnel and their families who will leave the area as a result of Fort Monmouth’s closure later this year. DANIEL HOWLEY On a bright June morning last week, students at the Margaret L. Vetter Elementary School bid a fond farewell to some of their classmates during a ceremony honoring the military families who will leave Eatontown when Fort Monmouth closes its gates in September.
Held on June 14, Flag Day, the event highlighted the 14 students and their families who will be leaving the area, as well as the hundreds of other children of military families who have passed through the halls of the school.
“I’ve been here more than 17 years, and over the years, we’ve had sometimes as much as one-third of our building, more than 100 to 150 children, each year from Fort Monmouth,” said Vetter School Secretary Theresa Facchini. “And over the years, that number has dwindled down as the number of families with children that were coming here lessened.
“And now that the fort is closing, we felt that we should pay our respect, give thanks and just honor them for all of the joy they have brought to us,” she said.
“They are a unique group of people, and it’s been a pleasure to have them as part of our family, and that’s why we are here, the Vetter family. We’ve got a special bond with the military, and we wanted to celebrate that bond,” Facchini added,
Guests on hand for the ceremony included Mayor Gerald Tarantolo, Fort Monmouth Garrison Commander George Fitzmaier, Deputy to the Garrison Commander Martin Venturo, Eatontown Police Chief Michael Goldfarb and Officer Ryan Hennelly, as well as schools Superintendent Scott McCue and the principals of each of the district’s four schools and members of the Board of Education.
The 14 students and their parents sat in a semicircle in front of the speaker’s podium, with the American flag waving overhead.
Seated on red, white and blue sheets on the lawn behind the military families were the children’s classmates from grades kindergarten through six, each waving a small American flag.
Presided over by Vetter School Interim Principal Sarah O’Neill, who was decked out in red, white and blue, the ceremony kicked off with a procession of students marching to “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”
The event also featured performances by students who sang patriotic songs including “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America.”
Students from the school’s fourth, fifth and sixth grades also read essays stating their support for their classmates and wishing them luck in the future.
The school’s kindergarten, firstand second-graders, meanwhile, presented hand-drawn flags of the nation’s five military branches and explained to the audience the purpose of each branch.
Members of the school’s PTO presented each of the 14 departing students with a coin commemorating their time at Vetter.
On one side of the coin was the school’s logo while the reverse side featured an image of the fort.
During his remarks to the audience, McCue touched on the impact the fort’s closing will have on the district.
“As many of you know already, Fort Monmouth will be closing operations starting this summer. “The impact of this closing for the schools means that the military students and families that have been a part of Eatontown public schools and the greater Eatontown community will be reassigned to other places across the country,” he said.
“Margaret L. Vetter School seems like an appropriate location to recognize these special students and families, since Vetter School has had a longstanding tradition of educating the students of military families for over 57 years.”
McCue went on to thank the military families for their “dedication and support of our country and the Eatontown community.”
“Although it is appropriate to reflect upon the past today with some sadness, I am confident that we all have some vivid and happy memories to carry forward with us into the future,” he said.
Angelina Jacobs, who is stationed at the fort and is the mother of two Vetter students, said the ceremony was “beautiful.”
Jacobs, who has lived in the borough since 2008, will be leaving Eatontown for San Antonio, Texas, and retirement after 20 years in the military. “I’ve never been to a ceremony like this,” she said. “And to see the children a part of it, it was just really tremendous. I mean just the creativity … it was beautiful.”
Ismaro Carraquillo, who is stationed at the fort and will also be leaving Eatontown, said the event was “very special.”
With the fort closing, Carraquillo said, he and his daughter will be moving to the Picatinny Arsenal in Dover.
During his remarks to the crowd, Tarantolo thanked the members of the military for their service.
“I would like to say goodbye, farewell, good luck, best wishes, God bless on behalf of all of the residents of Eatontown.
“We certainly will miss you. You’ve become part of our family over the years, and it’s a sad day for Eatontown to lose so many wonderful people,” Tarantolo said.
“Thank you for being a part of our lives, thank you for being a part of Eatontown, and thank you for being a part of the military that we look up to.”
Contact Daniel Howley at [email protected].