Al LaBook fought polio, Nazis, and the North Koreans, and then he fought fires in Hoboken.
This week, LaBook will be honored for his patriotism and dedication.
On Wednesday, May 20 at 6 p.m., the Hoboken Memorial Day Parade will march down Washington Street, and so will LaBook. LaBook is 83 years old and one month removed from a knee replacement. He’s still fighting.
LaBook was born and raised in Hoboken and was turned down by the Marines for World War II because of the lingering effects of his three-year stint with polio as a boy. He had already ditched his heavy leg braces 10 years earlier; in fact, when LaBook had stopped using the braces in 1932, his doctor said, “Everywhere you go, I want you to run.”
“That’s why I joined the track team,” LaBook recalled last week.
But in 1943, the Marines weren’t convinced of LaBook’s health. He was still dead-set on fighting the Nazis.
“So I joined the Navy,” LaBook said with a laugh. “Everyone was out to get Hitler. It was a different world back then. We were flag wavers in that era.”
Honored to be honored
LaBook said he was “stunned” when he was asked to marshal the parade and “honored” to be considered.
“I mean I put in a lot of time [in the service], but I never had a lot of battle decorations,” LaBook explained.
After the three years in the Navy, he returned to Hoboken and was immediately offered a job as a police officer or firefighter by then-Mayor Bernard McFeeley.
LaBook turned him down.
“I was 20 years old. I just got back from the war,” LaBook said. “I wanted to go have a beer. So I turned him down.”
Two years later, LaBook took the fireman’s test and passed. His first captain? Marty Sinatra, father of famous crooner Frank.
LaBook joined the Air Force reserve because he always loved to fly, and was trained as an aviation metalsmith. When the Korean War came along, LaBook was sent to fight again.
The guys and gals of Seventh and Willow
He said when he was away at war, he missed the people of Hoboken: the families that he grew up with and the kids from the block, Seventh and Willow.
“The guys and the gals were great back then,” he said. “There’s just something about this town, even the newcomers.”
He married his wife Elizabeth in Hoboken. They had their daughter Elizabeth Anne in Hoboken. The town is in their bones.
Parade schedule, other events
The parade will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Elks Lodge, 1005 Washington St., and will continue south to Observer Highway.
Veterans will also be holding Memorial Day service at the 600 Garden St. Community Church on Sunday, May 16 at 6 p.m. On Saturday, May 15 at 9 a.m., a wreath-tossing ceremony was to be held at Pier A in memory of sailors in World War II.
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.