Perhaps the most moving moment of the Veterans Day Tribute and USO show at Historic Jersey city and Harsimus Cemetery on Nov. 11 actually occurred before the ceremonies started. One of the elderly veterans struggling with a large flagpole bearing a POW flag attempted to cross Newark Avenue to get to the gate to the cemetery.
Traffic is unforgiving along that section of Newark Avenue, cars whizzing down from the area of Dickinson High School making it a difficult crossing.
The veteran, a black elderly man bearing a hat that said he had served in WWII, waited, stepped off the curb, and then back on the curb as traffic also rushed up the other way. A New Jersey Transit bus making its up from downtown pulled to a stop, blocking one lane, finally allowing the veteran and his flag to cross.
Keeping the memory alive
Veterans Day is one of those hidden holidays that Jersey City is trying to bring back to public awareness.
Last year, Mayor Steven Fulop, who served in the Marines, reinstituted the Veterans Day Parade in Jersey City that brought veterans and others up Newark Avenue from City Hall to pay tribute. They stopped at a cemetery that has bore witness to the burials of veterans from every American conflict since the foundation of the nation.
This year, the parade was held the day after Veterans Day so that the ceremony in the cemetery seemed more intimate, although not without energy or emotion. Public officials gathered with others to make sure that Veterans Day remains a vital part of people’s consciousness.
While much of the history of American wars is recorded in books and film, much of the actual experience has been passed on by the men and women who lived through the conflict, each recalling specific details of pain and heroism too personal for documentary. And in this way, these vets contributed to helping people understand what their sacrifices meant. This was the reason that brought out members of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign War and the Disabled American Veterans: to remember.
Veterans Day was first celebrated on Nov. 11, 1921 when an unknown soldier’s remains were interned at Arlington National Cemetery, overlooking the Potomac River.
Armistice Day, as it was known then, became a national holiday in 1926. It was believed then that World War I would be the war to end all wars, something disproven when violence again erupted in Europe within a decade, leading eventually to the Second World War.
In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed legislation designating Nov. 11 as Veterans Day, this with the intent of honoring not only World War I veterans, but all veterans who fought for America. Two more unidentified veterans were buried in Arlington, one killed in WWII, one in the Korean Conflict.
In 1973 arrangements were made for the burial of an unknown soldier from the Vietnam War, though no unidentified solider was found until 1984.
As time passes, individual memories of older conflicts pass, too. While some can recall the last surviving veteran from WWI, many of the veterans who fought in WWII are seeing their numbers dwindle and soon, the news media will mark the last of their number.
A small but significant gathering
The significance of the cemetery was worth noting, said Eileen Markenstein, the head of the volunteers who maintain it. Here, the past and future become connected, and past vets are remembered.
“There are 6,000 veterans currently living in Jersey City.” – Mayor Steven Fulop
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“There are 6,000 veterans currently living in Jersey City,” he said.
“You might not know a vet,” said Rivera, also a Marine Corp. veteran, speaking to the small gathering. “But some vets gave their all for you.”
Rivera hosted a float honoring veterans during the parade the next day, something he has done through a number of veteran events over the last few years.
In something of a shock, Councilman Michael Yun said Jersey City currently does not have a monument honoring veterans who served in WWII, something he, Korean War Veterans and others intend to rectify, raising money to help establish one. “We’re just looking for the right location,” he said.
Council President Ronaldo Lavarro said, “We are here to thank our veterans.”
Freeholder Anthony Romano called Veterans Day a solemn occasion, a time of reflection for those who served and never came home, and some who returned home but were never the same.
Although there was sadness, there was also joy, as a USO Show Musical Tribute performed by an Andrews Sisters — including a trio called The American Bombshells — helped stir up memories of another time and place. Dressed in the uniforms of WWII era, the Bombshells provided a soundtrack that a military people of that era would have heard at the time when they served, a trip down memory lane into an era in which America faced perhaps its greatest challenges since its inception.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.