The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Most everyone had left the municipal building and Veterans Memorial Park on May 29, after the Memorial Day observance, when three people came running up the complex driveway.
The trio, all of whom were carrying U.S. flags, stopped when they reached the monuments.
“You missed the ceremony,” Township Councilwoman Shanel Robinson (D-At Large) told them.
“That was the intention,” one of the runners, Howard Rosenblatt said, pointing to the monuments for each service branch. “This isn’t about us, it’s about them.”
The three township residents – Rosenblatt, his wife, Maryann Imroth and Julie Daigle – are members of the Central Jersey chapter of Team Red, White and Blue, an organization whose mission is to “help our veterans re-connect with their communities through social and physical activity,” Daigle said.
Daigle is the chapter’s captain while Imroth, an Army veteran, is its athletic director.
“This is Memorial Day and we wanted to do something meaningful on Memorial Day, so we thought there’s nothing better than grabbing a flag and coming down to a spot where we can pay our respects and honor the fallen,” Daigle said.
Imroth said the group runs “four or five times a month.”
“We want to bring awareness to our veterans, to the freedom that we have that we’ve fought so hard for,” she said. “The flag inspires folks.”
The group runs in races with the flags, but not to compete, they said.
Other activities the group undertakes include cycling and hiking with rucksacks.
Rosenblatt said he’s involved in the group to not only honor his wife, but also others who have served in the military.
“My dad served, my uncle served and I think it’s important for those of us who didn’t to remember those who do and did,” he said. “It’s the least I can do.”
