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The plight of military veterans dealing with service-related issues was one of the topics touched on at the annual Township Veterans’ Day observance on November 11.
Several dozen people gathered in the Township Council chamber for the ceremony to hear patriotic songs, speeches and ring the Memorial Bell in Veterans Memorial Park.
Chaplain Lt. Col. (Ret.) Gregory D. Jans, the pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on Amwell Road and the day’s keynote speaker, told those gathered that they should “pledge our ongoing care as we support all those who are willing to lay down their lives and thankfully came home alive again. Having walked the walk, it’s not difficult to understand how the impact of serving continues even years and decades later.”
Jans, who served for more than 27 years, also had thoughts for military families.
“I want to say thank you to the families of veterans as you have also borne the burdens of your loved one’s service,” he said.
“The reintegration after returning from combat is never easy, often misunderstood,” he said. “Families often wonder how their loved ones will be impacted by their experiences down range. It’s never, well, you’re home, just get on with life, you survive. That’s not how the veteran’s life works. There are times when the combat skills needed to survive don’t translate well or best back in the civilian world. Some struggle with moral injury, a world not like I thought it should be.”
“They grapple with suffering or how to grow beyond life disordering events,” Jans said. “Reintegration can be challenging after facing what we’ve seen and been a part of.”
“Let’s continue to support those who have borne our nation’s burdens in warfare and in peace,” he said. “Our veterans have earned our land’s respect and deserve appropriate lifelong care because with veterans, it’s not the length of time served, but what they experience during their service which can have those lingering impacts. Thank the veteran for their willingness to put their life on that line with that unlimited liability.”
Sam Peshe, of the Canal Walk Veterans Club, spoke about their late member Frank DeLuca, who died earlier this year at the age of 101.
“Frank was an inspiration to all those that he touched, and his spirit of patriotism, of duty, and honor were characteristics that his fellow veterans most respected,” he said.
DeLuca was wounded in combat in Belgium in 1945, after which he was discharged from the US Army.
“We thank God that that sniper’s bullet didn’t take Frank from us in 1945,” Peshe said. “For his service during World War II, we are so grateful. For his friendship, we are thankful, and for having known him, God, we are so enriched.”
“He was a dear friend of mine, and a role model, I think, for all of us,” he said.
Chaplain Col. Jonathan Hurt gave the invocation.
Franklin Reporter & Advocate co-publisher PJ Parker sang the National Anthem and “God Bless America.”
After the indoor ceremony, the Canal Walk Veterans were led outside to Veterans Memorial Park by bagpiper Rich Allen of the Somerset County Police Pipes and Drums, where they each rang the Memorial Bell.
The event was organized by township resident Bob LaCorte, with Stephen Dahl, Director of the Parks and Recreation Department, and Carl Hauck, Director of the Department of Public Works.
Here are some scenes from the event:
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