Dear Editor:
In response to an editorial comment on the possibility of a United States Veteran being buried within the cemetery in Secaucus I believe the possibility is very high. I have been doing some preliminary research which has been sent to the court a few days before the December 6 hearing pertaining to the possibility that Veterans of WWI may be buried within this land. The information I gathered was based on the 1930 census for the institutions at that time. I ask that it be kept in mind this is only one year out of the many the facilities were used.
My fact finding is as follows: At the time of the census in 1930 on April 15 over 75 veterans of World War I and the Spanish American War were at these facilities. Of these veterans that were at the facility about eight names matched the current burial list that the NJ Turnpike has available on the authorities web site. The majority of the veterans were either in the jail or within the insane asylum.
I would like people to consider for one minute the possibilities of WWII and Korean War Veterans also being buried in this land. The 1940 and 1950 census will not be available for 10 and 20 years respectively. I myself was surprised at how many veterans were at this facility in 1930 on this date.
This fact finding leads me to believe that many many more stayed at this facility. This opens up the possibility further than there are veterans of several different wars buried within these grounds. I have yet to hear back from the court on my findings. To be perfectly honest I do not even know if the court will consider this in its fact finding but I feel the public has a right to know that Veterans of several wars may be buried there.
Shawn Jaryno