Bloomfield honors its veterans

Bloomfield residents observed Veterans Day on Saturday morning, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m., its traditional day and hour.

There was the march of veterans, police and fire department officers, from Town Hall to the War Memorial, on the Green. The weather was pleasant and mild.

Councilman Nick Joanow, representing the township, walked the short route beside Essex County Commissioner Carlos Pomares, D-District 5, a Bloomfied resident.

At the War Memorial, the white folding chairs, thoughtfully arranged before the podium, were unoccupied, as is often the case at these observances, although spectators stood nearby. The master of ceremony was Michael Sceurman, director of Bloomfield Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs.

Pomares was the first speaker. He asked people not to forget veterans.

“They have problems long beyond the ceremony today,” he said.

He requested applause for the veterans in attendance, especially those from the Vietnam War, because, he said, they never received the recognition they deserved when they returned home.

Joanow spoke.

“Be respectful,” he said. “Support your elected officials.”

Peace and safety in the community, he said, were not someone else’s job and observed, “It’s group survival.”

Marchetta Evans, the chancellor of Bloomfield College of Montclair University, followed and said she was an Army brat: her father, brother and uncle were military men. When she thinks of veterans, she said she thinks of the sacrifices their families make, too.

Allen Garth, the commander of VFW Post 711, Bloomfield, thanked teachers for serving their communities everyday.

James Wollner, a disabled veteran of the Vietnam War, gave a brief account of Veterans Day, reminding everyone that it was originally called Armistice Day, ending World War I on Nov. 11, 1918, at 11 a.m. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower had the name changed to Veterans Day and made it a national holiday.

“Freedom is never free,” Wollner quoted. “It is paid for by the blood of veterans. May we never dishonor our veterans because we then dishonor our nation.”
Ella Jacoby, a Bloomfield High School junior and member of its marching band, played taps closing the ceremony.

Sceurman announced that following the ceremony, a local pub was providing free lunch to veterans. A fee would be charged to non-veterans. Among the veterans, heads turned and voices raised: “Are you going?” Confirmations were returned with each query.

  bloomfield, Veterans Day