JACKSON – On the evening after Memorial Day, Jackson’s municipal officials were still thinking about those who died in service to the nation.
During the Township Council’s meeting on May 28, Councilman Ken Bressi thanked everyone who attended services on Memorial Day “and felt the respect and reflection that should be felt, and remember that although you are enjoying these freedoms day after day after day, every so often think of the cost of those freedoms and the ones who gave the supreme sacrifice.
“Many of us have individual memorial days during the year and Gold Star families (who lost a son or daughter) do the same thing. You hear about it on Memorial Day. They lost their loved one on a different date … so they have that memorial day quite often,” Bressi said.
“Enjoy your freedoms … Honor the reasons they gave the supreme sacrifice for your freedoms, but never fail to think and reflect on what the cost of those freedoms were,” the councilman said.
Councilman Alex Sauickie said, “As Councilman Bressi mentioned, those who fought, fought for all the freedoms we have. One of those freedoms is the right to vote. It is a right that has been given to you by all those who sacrificed and I hope you take advantage of it.”
Council Vice President Barry Calogero said it was an honor to march in the township’s Memorial Day parade, which started at the Holman Elementary School and proceeded along Manhattan Street to Johnson Park.
“If anybody had ever questioned the spirit of Jackson, that really tells you how strong Jackson is. We met as a community, we come together as a community, and it certainly was a day worthy of so many people coming out to acknowledge those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice,” Calogero said.
Council President Robert Nixon thanked the Jackson PBA, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the parade participants, including Jackson’s high school bands, the ROTC and members of community groups “who took time out of a perfectly glorious Memorial Day and spent a few minutes honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“And a word of appreciation to Councilman Bressi, who is a distinguished veteran in our community, for always having the most poignant and meaningful words to share on that very, very important day,” Nixon said.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Alexander Roubian, of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society, thanked the council members for their heartfelt words.
“I grew up as a first generation American and (people may be) very naive to some of these things sometimes. You take for granted the freedoms we have. I woke up on the morning of Sept. 19, 2013 to a message that just said ‘Tim is dead.’ He was a good friend of mine from high school, 15 years, and he was a Green Beret and an amazing individual,” Roubian said.
Roubian said that news six years ago changed his life and changed the meaning of what Memorial Day means to him.
“The last day I spent with him was actually in Jackson at (a) shooting range, he was a firing instructor. If he walked into this room today, not only would his personality fill the room, but he stood 6-feet, 6-inches tall … he was a true American hero … and it changed my life and what we take for granted,” he said.
Roubian told Bressi he got emotional as he listened to the councilman’s speech at the Memorial Day services.
“I hope you understand and realize your words are very powerful and very profound, and they really encompassed what I think the meeting of Memorial Day should be,” Roubian said.