Warren County on Saturday continued its tradition of honoring residents who have served their country during wartime.
The coronavirus pandemic twice forced the postponement of the 17th Veterans Recognition Ceremony, held at the Warren County War Memorial dedicated in 1998 beside the courthouse at Second and Mansfield streets in Belvidere.
But with participants asked to wear face coverings and chairs spaced apart, the outdoor ceremony was finally held.
Freeholder Director Richard Gardner, in the final months of his sixth term and not seeking re-election, remarked about the importance of honoring the past amid “crazy times,” where everyone has to have a face mask while out in public and amid social strife.
“We owe so much to the military,” Gardner said. "We have the greatest country on the face of this Earth. And some of the pure craziness that seems to be pervasive in our country, some extent of that, just boggles the mind, and it’s not a Republican or a Democrat issue. To me it’s a common sense issue, and I think some of these protesters may not even be old enough to understand what they’re protesting about.
"You know what this country offers. Why do you want to tear down its history? It doesn’t make sense to me.
“We have an obligation to protect that history and move forward and make it a more perfect future, understand the critical plights of people in our country and try to make things better, but you don’t tear down the past.”
Freeholder Deputy Director James Kern III and Freeholder Jason Sarnoski also spoke, as did Assemblyman John DiMaio, a Republican representing local residents in New Jersey’s 23rd Legislative District.
“Right now we have a voluntary military, and for those serving to take that oath and to take that risk I think really speaks to the volume of the character of these individuals,” Kern said. “I thank you for taking that oath for protecting what’s the greatest country on Earth and this is a small gesture that Warren County can do every year and we will continue to do as long as there’s veterans that earned this award.”
Dennis L. Smith, president of the Warren County War Memorial Corp., served as master of ceremonies. He dedicated Saturday’s event to Leo Becker, a trustee on the war memorial board and chairman at the time the war memorial was founded.
“It was his idea,” Smith said of the 94-year-old U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, who missed the county’s annual war era recognition ceremony on Saturday for the first time.
Gardner, toward the end of the ceremony, was presented with a plaque honoring his years of service to the county and to the veterans recognition effort. Two candidates are on the ballot Nov. 3 running to succeed him on the board, Republican Lori Ciesla and Democrat Theresa Bender Chapman.
Saturday’s ceremony recognized 21 veterans -- 11 posthumously.
All received the Warren County Distinguished Military Service Medal, a replica lapel pin and certificate of recognition.
About 50 people were in attendance, as Saturday’s ceremony brought to 2,218 the number of war era veterans recognized since the program began in 2003. The first veteran the county honored back then was 108-year-old Julius Hausold, then Warren County’s last-surviving World War I veteran.
The veterans honored Saturday come throughout Warren County, and four live out of state.
Recognized, with their branch of the military and war era in which they served, were:
Elizabeth J. Ancey, Army, World War II
Walter Ancey, Army, World War II
James Ancypowic, Army, World War II
Paul L. Avery, Army, Vietnam War
Robert C. Brennan, Navy, Vietnam War
John D. Bronico, Coast Guard, Vietnam War
Donald J. Butler, Air Force, Korean War
Don DeBacco, Army, World War II
Gregory K. Goble, Marines, Vietnam War
Robert D. Grosinski, Army, Vietnam War
Lewis Kenneth Hann, Army, World War II
Albert W. Kieselmann, Air Force, Vietnam War
Curtis Landsberger, Army, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Allan G. Melillo, Army, Vietnam War
Gilbert S. Mitchell, Army, World War I
Edward Howard Richline, Navy, World War II
Herbert William Saunders, Navy, World War II
Paul N. Tremper, Air Force, Vietnam War
Orlando Vega, Army, Vietnam War
Carl F. Woronowicz, Navy, Vietnam War
Carl L. Woronowicz, Marines, World War II
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a subscription.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.