The area honored those who served in observance of Veterans Day.
Atlantic City held its service over the weekend with a ceremony at Jackson Avenue and the Boardwalk, paying tribute to the brave men and women who have served the country.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office kicked off the week with a ceremony at the courthouse in Mays Landing on Monday.
Stockton University also had a ceremony Monday. The school was nationally honored last week for its veteran outreach
Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian announced a new program that will allow the families of military veterans to honor their loved ones by placing personalized banners in Veterans Memorial Park.
“We’ve been working on this program for a long time. Like everything we do in Ocean City, we want to make sure it’s first class,” Gillian said in keynote remarks at a Veterans Day ceremony Tuesday.
In Longport, American Legion Post 269 held its annual Veterans Day program in Thomas B. Reed Park on the 11th hour of the 11th day of November.
The weather was sunny, frigid and windy, with gusts exceeding 40-miles-per-hour, but that was nothing compared to the difficulties faced by America’s war veterans.
Members of Margate’s Eugene A. Tighe Middle School choral group sang the national anthem and ended the program singing “God Bless America.”
Post Commander Larry Pacentrilli noted that the Legion lost two of its most treasured members this year – 35-year U.S. Army veteran John Stroebele, a 25-year member of the organization and one of its most active members. He passed away on Oct. 21 after a monthslong illness
Stroebele was called into service locally as a member of the borough’s Volunteer Fire Department after he had a fire at his house. He was impressed with service to the community, and went on to become a commissioner and mayor.
Shortly after Stroebele’s passing, the Post lost another great member – Air Force Veteran Ken Ross, whose wife Georgianne is an active member of the Auxiliary.
“Our members enjoyed Ken’s sense of humor and we all respected his professional approach to anything he did,” Pacentrilli said. “He always did things right the first time” and led the effort to produce the Legion’s telephone directory and helped to organize the Wounded Warrior Week program.
Atlantic County had a ceremony honoring its veterans in longterm care at Meadowview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Northfield.
One of the veterans, Marine Corporal Theodore Strzelski who served in World War II, was honored in light of 100th birthday next week Nov. 19.
(Donald Wittkowski and Nanette LoBiondo Galloway contributed to this report.)