Ceremony Remembers All Garden State Service Members at New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial

All 1,563 New Jersey residents who did not return home from the Vietnam War are honored at the magnificent and moving New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, located off of Garden State Parkway exit 116 in Holmdel, NJ. The memorial is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but hosts numerous special ceremonies and other events throughout the year, as well. And there is, perhaps, no more appropriate time to remember New Jersey’s lost Vietnam veterans than at the venue’s annual Memorial Day ceremony, which is attended by thousands of veterans and their loved ones from all over the state and far beyond.

This year’s ceremony was held on the morning of May 28, 2018 and the Museum and Educational Center, also on the site, was open to the public until 2 p.m. that afternoon.

NJVVMF (New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation) Board of Directors Trustee Jim Cusick gave the welcome address and led the Pledge of Allegiance, with the posting of the colors conducted by members of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #200 in Ocean County. The National Anthem was sung by Sandra Ward, followed by an invocation by Joe Formola, chaplain of the New Jersey State Council of Vietnam Veterans of America. The keynote speaker of the day was Army veteran Chuck Sevola, vice president and head of Prudential Financial’s Veteran Initiatives office.

Also during the ceremony, two local New Jersey high school seniors were presented with scholarships awarded by the NJVVMF. This year’s recipients were Rachael Staino from the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science and Erica Soya of Red Bank Regional High School.            

An important and particularly poignant part of the day’s agenda was the addition of several New Jersey veterans to the “In Memory” program, which honors those who served in Vietnam and returned home, but died years later as a result of their tour of duty. This year, six names were inducted, including Vernon Brasher, US Army, of Neptune; Thomas Dorrian, US Army, of Jackson; Edwin Goodman, US Army, of Highlands; Thomas Hazel, US Army, of Old Bridge; Richard Kunch, US Marine Corps, of Piscataway; and Michael Zulin, US Air Force, of Morgan.

The ceremony continued with the presentation of a long line of beautiful memorial wreaths from numerous organizations throughout the state, followed by a moving rendition of “God Bless America” by Sandra Ward and a benediction delivered by Joe Formola.

After the retiring of the colors, again by VVA Chapter #200, the crowd dispersed in different directions – some walking slowly around the circular, 366-panel open air pavilion, searching for the names of friends and family members on each corresponding day of the year; others gathering to pause and admire the three gloriously designed bronze statues at the center of the memorial.

Others strolled the memorial grounds to see the Women’s Meditation Garden, the US War Dog Memorial, the Purple Heart Memorial, the New Jersey Gold Star Family Monument, the Vietnamese American Monument, or the enormous Huey Project helicopter that sits perched in the air. Still others moved into the indoor Museum and Educational Center, where they viewed the impressive, and informative, collection of photos, histories, news articles, and emotional letters that had been sent from the soldiers in Vietnam to the loved ones that anxiously awaited them on the homefront.

It was a day to remember, to honor, and to give thanks to all those who deserved it most.