BELLEVILLE, NJ — In commemoration of Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day on March 29, the Belleville Historical Society produced a short video tribute to the 11 young men from Belleville who lost their lives during the war. To view the video, visit https://youtu.be/MLNn2tMNIys.
During the past two years, the historical society has restored to their original condition the gravestones of seven of these young men from Belleville as well as those of three young men from Nutley, all of whom were killed in action in Vietnam. On March 26, the society restored the stone of Pfc. Joseph De Jessa, of Lyndhurst, to whom the Kingsland Avenue Bridge is dedicated. Society members did not realize until they had finished cleaning the stone and were able to read the inscription that they had honored De Jessa by cleaning his gravestone on the anniversary of his death.
Photos Courtesy of Michael Perrone