9af231ce9cee0963e0bbb7b0bf449f9c.jpg

MANVILLE: Vietnam sacrifices honored

By Mary Ellen Day, Special Writer
   The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2290 held a ceremony Saturday at the post hall to honor those who served in the Vietnam War.
   ”They made the supreme sacrifice; they gave their lives to keep America free. For it is only through their heroic efforts that America enjoys the freedom and prosperity that are her hallmarks,” said Post 2290 Commander Fred Gorbatuk.
   Members of the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary laid red, white and blue carnations and a wreath on the symbolic grave. Commander Gorbatuk also placed the U.S. flag on the site.
   ”On behalf of our glorious republic for whose integrity our comrades enlisted and served, I place this emblem of our nation, the flag of our country. Its glorious colors shall wave over them in death as in life for everyone to behold,” he said.
   A gun salute and taps honored those who died.
   Mayor Angelo Corradino said, “As we gather here to remember those brave men and women, both living and deceased, who served our nation during the Vietnam War, it seems unbelievable that it has been 40 years since the last of the known prisoners of war was reportedly released and eventually returned home.”
   He said, “The void in our hearts remains. Never before had we experienced a war that was broadcast on the evening news with television footage of actual events — in some instances on the same day they occurred. Never before had our brave men and women endured such an unwelcoming homecoming.”
   He continued, “It is more than fitting that we gather to remember those special men and women who fought an undeclared war in a foreign land where you could not distinguish friend from foe and knowing that, today, some survivors are still fighting a never-ending fight for their lives with the aftermath of chemicals dropped on them not knowing what the results would be. I thank Post 2290 for honoring those who returned as well as those who never returned and those still missing.”
   Assemblywoman Donna Simon said she looked forward to coming to Manville to commemorate and celebrate service to the country.
   ”The Manville community always does a great job in honoring and remembering our veterans,” she said. “The casualties from this war are sobering. Over 1,500 were from New Jersey alone, many from Somerset County. We should never forget that, and that’s what today is all about.”
   Congressman Rush Holt came to support the veterans as did John Legates, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America, New Jersey State Council.
   Mr. Legates, a Vietnam veteran, called the war “the longest and most divisive war in our nation’s history . . . some of that division still echoes throughout our society today. We were not prepared for what we found in our homeland: the jeers, the curses and the hateful stares from our countrymen. We got on with our lives, coping the best we could. Some of us carried more guilt and shame then any veteran should have to bear.
   ”To all of our departed comrades, rest in peace to all my brother and sister veterans. Welcome home.”
   The ceremony also was attended by members of the Borough Council; Boy Scout Troop 193 and leaders; Department of New Jersey Junior Vice President of the Ladies Auxiliary Barbara Taylor; New Jersey Senior Vice Commander Art Taylor; members of the American Legion; District 15 Ladies Auxiliary President Cindy Dilts; and District 15 Commander Charles Goodyear.