At large Councilwoman October Hudley, second from left, stands with Camptown Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1941 Commander Penny Register, right, and other members of the post on Friday, Nov. 9, while the NBA and New Jersey Cares charities were performing free renovation and upgrades to the post building located on Chestnut Avenue. The NBA donated the workers and equipment through New Jersey Cares.
IRVINGTON, NJ — The U.S. Army used to have a recruiting slogan and poster that said: “We do more before 9 a.m. than most people do in their entire day.” Although it is composed of veterans from all the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, not just the Army, members of Camptown Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1941 on Chestnut Avenue seemed determined to live up to this promise in the days before Veterans Day, Sunday, Nov. 11, and Monday, Nov. 12, the date the national holiday was observed this year.
The Camptown VFW Post 1941 vets joined forces with the National Basketball Association and the Jersey Cares non-profit charitable volunteer organization to do a renovation and refurbishment on the post building itself on Friday, Nov. 9. The NBA donated all the construction materials, man- and woman-power, and know-how to the post for free through Jersey Cares.
Then the post hosted its weekly free community breakfast for veterans and members of the surrounding community on Saturday, Nov. 10. On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, it hosted a memorial service at the post honoring brother and sister veterans, and on Monday, Nov. 12, it hosted a Claims Clinic for fellow vets in need that featured state Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker, at large Councilwoman October Hudley and other local elected officials, in addition to representatives from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Newark Regional Office.
The post is also scheduled to host its fourth annual Veterans Recognition and Service Awards Ceremony, in conjunction with the Nobles of Golconda Temple No. 24 in Newark, at the post on Saturday, Nov. 17. According to Camptown VFW Post 1941 Commander Penny Register, a Claims Clinic “is when veterans have problems with their claims and stuff and we have the claims people from Washington Street in Newark come here and assist the veterans to make sure their paperwork is correct and that they’re on the right track.”
“Any veterans, they can come here, every branch — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines,” said Register on Monday, Nov. 12. “All of them and the Coast Guard, too.”
Register agreed that the post had been very busy from Nov. 9 through Nov. 12, both in preparation for Veterans Day and in honor of it, too.
“Today, we have the New Jersey Cares group. They’re an organization that helps veterans and, today, they’re here at my post, 1941, doing a little renovation. They’re painting, they’re building stools, they’re building signs and stuff like that for the VFW. They’re hanging up blinds and stuff to try to make the post look beautiful.”
Register said the best thing about this activity was that it was totally free, because the NBA and Jersey Cares donated all the work, materials and equipment as a service to the veterans. She said the other good thing was that it all happened just in time for Veterans Day and the start of the holiday season.
“We have Thanksgiving coming up; also, we have Christmas coming up,” said Register on Friday, Nov. 9. “So we try to make it look real nice. When people come, they can see what a big impact it is, how the VFW looks.”
As generous as the NBA and Jersey Cares visit to Camptown VFW Post 1941 was, Register said it wasn’t the first time that a big corporate donor decided to do something nice for veterans and the post.
“I had Home Depot last year doing the kitchen and everything. They renovated the kitchen and they renovated the bathrooms and they did a beautiful job,” said Register. “So, every year, we try to do little by little, to try to make it look better than it was looking.”
Lenora Jones, Register’s secretary at the post, agreed with her commander and thanked the NBA, Jersey Cares, Home Depot and all the people and companies that show U.S. veterans “love.”
“I served in the Army for four years. I was the colonel’s secretary. Out here, I’m doing contract work as a computer technologist,” said Jones on Friday, Nov. 9. “We love the love that we get from the NBA, Jersey Cares and everybody that loves and helps the vets. We love it. We give love back.”
Register and her fellow Camptown VFW Post 1941 comrades, including Quartermaster Charon Jenkins, Chaplain Fred Mulligan, former Vice Commander Coley Stratford and Clifford Beckley, agreed that there was a lot of love to go around to and for vets this year on Veterans Day, and that was a very good thing.
“I’m honored to have served my country,” said Beckley on Monday, Nov. 12. “I have so much respect for the people who went on before me and what they did, so I could have the life that me and my family enjoy today. Mad respect for all of them and it’s the least thing I can do today, to be here to thank them for their service.”
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