By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Under gray skies, Montgomery Township residents gathered to honor both fallen military service members and the victims of the 9/11 terror attack at a ceremony that combined Memorial Day services with the re-dedication of the township’s 9/11 memorial at Montgomery Veterans Park.
Standing near the Veterans Memorial, Mike Maloney, who chairs the Montgomery Veterans Memorial Committee, reminded attendees that more than 200 years ago, township residents likely gathered in an open field to swear an oath to serve a one-year enlistment in the Continental Army.
They did so, Maloney said, knowing that they were taking a risk that their lives might end. That oath indicated that they were willing to end their lives, part with their dreams and part with their families as they entered military service, he said.
Since the American Revolutionary War, more than 1 million military service members have died, Maloney said. Their lives ended, their dreams were eliminated and they were parted from their families "so we can live our lives," he said.
Somerset County Freeholder Mark Caliguire reinforced Maloney’s message that Memorial Day is a day of remembrance.
Caliguire, who is a former Township Committee member and mayor, recalled a photograph of a young woman and a young child who were sitting on a blanket, next to a tombstone.
The woman, who was much too young to be a widow, was trying to bring the child closer to the father as they sat on the blanket, he said.
There may be hot dogs, parades and barbecues, but Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, Caliguire said. More than 600,000 soldiers died in the Civil War, he said.
Memorial Day had its beginnings in what was then called Decoration Day, which was created to honor the Civil War military casualties.
"It’s not just numbers. It’s individuals who gave their lives. They won’t be there at the breakfast table or the dinner table. Their lives were snuffed out for our freedom," Caliguire said of the soldiers and sailors who were killed during wartime.
Township Committee member Patricia Graham and Township Administrator Donato Nieman related personal stories that connect them to Memorial Day. Several family members served in the military, and one was killed in action.
Graham said her brother was 19 years old when he was drafted to serve in the military during the Vietnam War. He was a medic and helped the wounded soldiers "in the jungle and on the front lines," she said.
He was able to help some of the injured soldiers, but there were many that he could not help, she said. He saw good friends die in his arms as he tried to help them. He, too, was injured and came home, but many of his friends did not, she said.
"These are lives. The impact of their service was felt by their families. We are grateful to those who we lost, who made the ultimate sacrifice. It is important to remember them, not just on Memorial Day," Graham said.
Nieman told the attendees that one of his uncles was killed when the U.S. Army Air Force plane in which he was flying was shot down during World War II. Neither the plane nor the crew were recovered. Another uncle served in the U.S. Navy and returned home safely after the war.
His father, Dr. Solomon Z. Nieman, served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II and set up field hospitals. Although he rarely spoke of his military service, Nieman said, his father commented that mending broken bodies was easier than mending broken souls.
Noting the refurbished 9/11 Memorial, Mayor Ed Trzaska said the terror attack in New York City still touches a raw nerve.
"We need to do more to remember the Montgomery Township residents that we lost that day," Mayor Trzaska said.
Those residents included Philip Parker, Steven Goldstein and Brian Thomas Cummins. William F. Fallon Jr., who served in the U.S. Navy and who died on 9/11 at the World Trade Center, also was honored. He lived in Rocky Hill.
At the refurbished 9/11 Memorial, Maloney praised former Montgomery Township resident Huguette Castaneda for spearheading the original 9/11 memorial.
The new memorial features a patio with pavers and wall stones donated by EP Henry and its "HEROSCAPING" program. It also includes a piece of granite from the World Trade Center and a flagpole.
Before an American flag was raised on the new flagpole, township resident Eric Bulger offered some comments. He was a police officer with the Port Authority Police Department on 9/11.
Bulger, who has since retired, said he responded to the World Trade Center with nearly 20 police officers – but only four of the group survived.
He said that in the aftermath of the attack, "people in New York City and Montgomery actually remembered how to say hello, how to be kind and not look down on people they did not associate with."
"It lasted two months," Bulger said.
New Yorkers went back to hating the police, he said. And as tragic as 9/11 was, for a period, everyone was nice, he said. Maybe it was because they were fearful that they were nice to each other, he added.
"Try to be nice to each other (now)," Bulger said.
