Sunday marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the World War II, when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The day is known as V-J (Victory over Japan) Day.
In Jersey City, there is a visible reminder of the day that may not be known to everyone.
Painted on the Third Street Side of Public School 5 in Downtown Jersey City is a small mural that honors those who fought in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
The mural was created on the spur of the moment on August 14, 1945 by three young men who lived within blocks of it.
One of those young men is 73-year-old Paul Marlu Maiellaro, a security guard in the Jersey City school system. Maiellaro grew up on Colgate Street, a block from the painting. These days, he lives on Third Street where he looks out everyday at his creation.
He was 13 years old when V-J Day occurred.When he was 13
“I don’t remember too much except there was dancing in the streets and that everyone had a drink in their hand that day,” said Maiellaro last week. “I also remember that the cops were looking for us, because in those days you didn’t deface property.”
This Sunday, Maiellaro will also remember two neighbors, Benjamin Gentile and Nicholas DePasquale, who both died in World War II. He will hold a small gathering in front of the painting, with Mayor Jerramiah Healy expected to make an appearance. Those were the days
The neighborhood surrounding P.S. 5 is a quiet one, almost tranquil as the school is closed for summer vacation. It gives the credence to the moniker it has earned over the years – the Italian Village.
That name describes the area of Downtown Jersey City near the school and the other side across Newark Avenue, where Italian immigrants put down roots in the 1ate 1800s and early 1900s coming from Italy to then-industrial Jersey City.
Many sons of those immigrants served in World War II. As a youth, Maiellaro watched the “older guys” go off to war.
He hopes in the near future to get the city to rename the intersection of Third and Colgate Streets after Gentile and DePasquale, two of the “older guys.”
“I knew them, but they were seven, eight years older than me,” said Maiellaro.
Gentile’s family resides in Jersey City Heights. According to Edward Gentile and Denise Gentile, who are the brother and grand-niece of the late Benjamin Gentile, he was buried in Holland. They said he was killed as he protected a fellow soldier in battle. Tribute to those who fought
The painting that Maiellaro created so long ago says “Welcome” in red letters at the top. Below is the date “Aug. 14, 1945” in blue letters with the American flag underneath and the letters VJ for V-J Day placed over the flag. Below, it reads “World War II Veterans”.
Maiellaro remembers that it took an entire day to paint it. It has gotten new paint jobs over the years when additions were made to remember those who fought and died in the Korean War and in the Vietnam War.
He also looked at the names of the other boys who painted the V-J Day mural – VAL AND BAY.
“One of them went into the Navy and I never saw him again,” Maiellaro said. “The other one lives around the corner, but I think he went out of town.”
A nearby resident, Larry Cappoli, was admiring the painting as well last week. Cappoli’s father, who lived on Colgate Street, served in India and Burma during WWII.
“[The soliders were] a special breed of people,” he said. “Tough, but they didn’t complain. It think it came from going through the Depression and then serving in war. Today, what is adversity compared to that?” Remembering V-J Day
A friend of Maiellaro, Domenick Fortunato, was a 20-year-old serving in the Navy during World War II. Fortunato served a signalman on the U.S. battleship Wasatch.
“You would get ordered to climb up high above the ship to change the flags. Then, I was a young kid who didn’t know any better. If I was older, I would have told them to do it themselves,” said Fortunato, who now lives on Second Street.
Fortunato was one of four brothers who served in the war, with all four surviving.
He remembers V-J Day with some fondness.
“My ship was sailing to Japan from the Philippines, just after the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place,” said Fortunato. “When the announcement was made that the war was over, we were celebrating on the ship.”
Fortunato said that he and fellow officers were given “liberty” or permission to leave the ship and go ashore, where he said with a laugh that the first thing the officers were looking for was Japanese women.
He was also taken aback by what he saw in the streets while walking around the Japanese town of Yokohama.
“The people were walking in the streets just going about their business like nothing ever happened,” said Fortunato.