ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS – It was a brief but meaningful ceremony at Veterans Park on First Avenue as the American Legion Post 141 celebrated at 11 a.m. on the 11th of November to honor the Armistice signing that ended World War I.
Veterans, relatives of veterans, friends of veterans and spectators who simply wanted to say thank you for military service were invited to express in their own words what the day meant to each. All also wanted to honor and thanks the first aid members, and Fire and Police Department officers for their continued service and participation in the patriotic ceremony.
Former Mayor and veteran, the late Peter Donoghue was remembered in a special way as Councilwoman Lori Hohenleitner noted this was the first Veterans Day observance for which he was not present, although the late mayor’s wife, sister and grandson were all on hand to thank veterans and recognize the holiday.
Others remembered fathers or relatives, some two generations of the same family, others with special thanks for specific branches of the military.
When a mild rain began, Regina Hawley Keelan held an umbrella over the head of Daniel Kron, well-known saxophone player who began the ceremony with the Star Spangled Banner. Kron has played for the professional sports teams, the Knicks, Nets and Miami Heat, and at the borough ceremony, also played a medley of both patriotic and other music.
In welcoming the crowd under grey skies and a mild rainfall, Post Commander Peter Doyle gave startling statistics that proclaimed why celebration of the day and thanks for veterans are important on Veterans Day and Memorial Day. He noted that 16.1 million living veterans have served during at least one war and two million veterans are women. Doyle cited the 2 million who served during the Korean War and another seven million men and women who served during the Vietnam War. Since then, he pointed, out another 5.5 million veterans served in the Persian Gulf.
The commander also noted that of the 16 million Americans who served during World War II, which ended in 1945, approximately 450,000 are still living and continue to deserve our praise. Thanks and admiration.
Post Deputy Commander Ellen O’Dwyer, who herself served as an Army Captain and earned the Army Commendation Medal, led the group in prayer for all military, living and dead, as well as police and all first responders.
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