Retired U.S. Army Special Forces Capt. Gregory Smack, left, stands with fellow Army and Vietnam War veteran retired E-4 Specialist Van Kimbrough on Sunday, Nov. 12, following the city’s official Veterans Day Parade that ended with a banquet at the Orange Elks Lodge 135 on Main Street. Smack and his wife, Candace, participated in the events and accepted a Service Award plaque on behalf of Gail Adams, who was among the veterans honored this year.
ORANGE, NJ — Orange Township hosted its annual Veterans Day Parade on Sunday, Nov. 12, the day after the official national observance, but at least one veteran who participated in the parade said he didn’t mind that Orange chose to honor its veterans on Nov. 12 instead of Nov. 11.
“Actually, President Barack Obama had granted the month of November as Veterans Month. So any time during the month is good,” Orange native and retired Army Capt. Gregory Smack said. “All the Armed Forces of the (United States) are one. I thank all the veterans I see, whether they came and served before me or after me. But I still thank them for their time. It’s an honor club.”
Smack, who served in the U.S. Special Forces during the Vietnam War, said being a veteran is being part of a brotherhood or sisterhood, and there is a particularly close bond between those who served together. Retired Army Specialist Van Kimbrough, also a Vietnam War veteran, agreed that their shared experiences in that particular conflict give them something in common with other Vietnam War veterans.
“I’m thankful that we’re all still around, because we could have got killed in Vietnam,” Kimbrough, who lives in East Orange, said Sunday, Nov. 12. “I’m proud that I served. The soldiers serving today need to be taught more because, where we went, they wouldn’t last one second. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines; all of the armed forces are one.”
Smack and Kimbrough said their bonds include recent veterans, such as at large Councilwoman Donna K. Williams, city Council President Kerry Coley and anyone else who served. Williams served in the Air Force voluntarily, whereas there was an actual draft when Smack and Kimbrough served in the Army during the Vietnam War.
Williams said she is proud of her service and the fact that Orange has set aside one day this month to honor all veterans.
“Today we’re just finishing up our Veterans Day Parade and we fed all of the vets, including myself, and I got to hang out with some great folks. Congressman Donald Payne Jr. came down and spent the day with us,” said Williams on Sunday, Nov. 12. “It was a wonderful day and we had a tremendous meal. I was up cooking all night. Thank you for all of our restaurants in the city of Orange (that) donated food and made this a wonderful afternoon.”
Williams said the Veterans Day Parade was “an awesome day, as always.”
“The Orange Recreation cheerleaders, the Orange Pop Warner Bengals cheerleaders and the Orange High School Mighty Tornadoes Band, they showed out. We also had one of our retired Orange special police officers, who is a retired West Orange police officer, Denzel McClutcher, who started a program in Orange called ‘Home of the Brave,’ and they participated with us by serving veterans on East Highland Avenue today. It was truly a community day,” Williams said.
“I just want to say ‘thank you’ for your service, your continued service for those who served and those who are serving now. We just had some very tragic situations that recently happened, so this day, of course, is a very somber day to those families, so we’re sending out prayers for them, because their loved one is not with them.
“The veterans are always in our forethought and we continue working. We all came together, just to reflect on this day and thank people for their service, but to also let people know what services are currently available to veterans,” Williams added.
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