Across Baristaville, the nation and the globe, today we honor the men and women who have worn — or are currently wearing — the uniform of the United States Armed Forces. From all at Barisatnet, we sincerely thank our veterans and enlisted troops for their service.
Here are just a few of the many Veteran stories in and around Baristaville. Tell us who you’re honoring today, or share your own memories of being in the service. Send a photo and/or tribute to tips@baristanet.com and we’ll do our best to add them to this post, or you can simply write as a comment below.
Dominick Dalessio, age 87 from South Hackensack, NJ:
Dominick Dalessio (pictured on the right), entered the service on May 11, 1943 and was discharged on February 17, 1946. He was one three brothers drafted during WWII. His brother Jerry served in the Army, his brother John served in the Air Force, and Dominick served in the Navy. All three brothers returned home.
“I am proud to say I am a Navy Veteran of WWII. I served aboard the USS Haraden in the Pacific. A Japanese Kamikaze plane hit my ship on December 13, 1943. Seventeen lives were lost – young boys who were not able to enjoy a long life as I have. They died for us. America should not forget them – I haven’t. I do not believe in war. Peace can be attained by peaceful talks.”
Robin Ehrlichman Woods of Montclair wrote this about her husband, Woody:
My husband, Woody Woods, served in the Army from 1967 to 1970 and was in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970 during the Tet Offensive.
It was a life changing,traumatic experience for him. Although we didn’t meet until almost a decade later, we talk about his experiences in Vietnam often. Vietnam vets weren’t a popular group. In fact, Woody remembers being spat upon and vilified when he returned to the States. He says that, “We lost the war, then the government said that it wasn’t a declared war, but a “police action. Vietnam vets had to join together to lobby for recognition,benefits, and health care Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the affects of Agent Orange exposure weren’t officially recognized until the 1980′s, and Vietnam vets are still fighting for their due to this day.
All vets should be proud of their service, whether they served in a “war zone” or not. They should be honored by this country and its citizens. Don’t spend your extra day off just shopping the Veteran’s Day sales. Show your sincere appreciation through special ceremonies or parades. When you see a vet, sincerely thank him or her for their service to our country. We deserve it.”
Salvatore A. Ferrara
Salvatore A. Ferrara owns two CKO Kickboxing Gyms (South Hackensack & Wallington) and also keeps busy privately instructing several of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. He served in the U.S. Army for nine years and spent much of 2004 and 2005 in Iraq training Iraqi soldiers, transporting prisoners, and working in convoy security.
Many people in this country do not realize what soldiers go through and what they experience. Being in a dangerous combat zone is a life-changing event for soldiers, their families and friends — but especially for the soldiers themselves. They are putting their lives on hold.
I did not tell my family back home what was really going on. I feared scaring them and making them worry more and more about me each day I was overseas. Keeping it to myself, staying strong, and keeping my mind on other things was not as easy as I thought it would be. In fact it was extremely difficult.
There are people out there who sacrifice so much for the greater good of their country. I still feel the honor and pride I felt when I represented America in Iraq. I continue to honor the people who serve in the war zones and I hope others appreciate all the men and women who work so hard to make America such a wonderful place.
Emily Konopinski, longtime Maplewood resident, now living in Millburn. Emily is an artist and film producer.
Eleven years ago I joined the United States Air Force. I was 19 years old.
In many ways it seems like a life that is unattached to the life I lead now, however, without that experience I would not be the person I am today. As cliche as that may sound, all of the time I spent in service, both pleasant and painful, I hold close to my heart. My time in service was not without struggle. Shortly after Basic Training I became very ill, and was later diagnosed with Lupus. The period of time it took to be diagnosed, (and treated) was possibly the most challenging. But I can not tell the story of my military service without remembering the lifelong friendships that I formed. These relationships have continued to enrich my life as I face “civilian” challenges and enjoy life’s pleasures.
My memories are vivid. The smell of the starch on our uniforms, the sore muscles, the distinct feeling of pride, and the light of the sun just as it cleared the horizon. I can honestly say that I miss it. The years that I spent living in Texas, Missouri and traveling across the country provided me with understanding. Meeting taxi drivers, service members, locals and Four Star Generals opened up a world that I would have otherwise never known. For that I am grateful. I can still hear the voices of these people, their accents, and their stories.
I remember eating Thanksgiving Dinner at the home of strangers. People who volunteered to share the holiday with Airmen away from home. I remember feeling like NJ was a million miles away. I remember never thinking a Texas Christmas would feel the same. I remember sleeping in airports, and begging for a leave pass to fly home to see my family. And I remember coming home.
That’s the main idea: coming home. Now at holiday time, I think of all the young people serving all of the world. People who have left their families and will make daily sacrifices to serve their country. I am glad to be home. I hope there will be improved care for returning veterans at the VA Hospitals, and I hope that our country will serve our veterans commensurate with their service to the country.
Thomas J Sobers Sr., sent to Baristanet by Linda Sobers:
Thomas J Sobers Sr. served in WWII in the Pacific Theatre. Returned home and served as a police officer in Montclair for 38 years. He is now 87 years old and in good health. Tom just particapted in Honorflight, which pays for veterans, especially those from WWII to visit the WWII Memorial in Washington DC.
I am so proud of my dad and the service he gave to our country. God Bless our Veteran’s!
Here are some events around Baristaville today, Thursday, 11/11:
The Township of Bloomfield’s Veterans Day march originates at Town hall, located at One Municipal Plaza, starting at 10:15am and will be led by VFW Post 711, other Distinguished VETS, Elected officials, BHS Marching Band, and members of township Police, Fire and EMS organizations. The march will proceed to The Veterans Monument on Franklin St.
Montclair Township’s annual Veterans Day Memorial Service will begin at 11:00 a.m. in Edgemont Park. The program will include speaker Edward “Bo” Foley who served in Vietnam as a First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Infantry and representatives from numerous veterans organizations. The Montclair Community Band will play and Mayor Jerry Fried will be as Master of Ceremonies.
Click here to learn about volunteering to help our Veterans.
Photo credit to US Army Africa.
Honestly, as a long-time reader of this site and also as a veteran, also as someone who remembers much of the vilification posted about our armed forces here in the relatively recent past (anyone recall, for example, a certain small-minded ‘laserish’ poster who so delighted in terming service people “Nazis” and was allowed to do so for so long by management?), there is a very large element of calculated humbug to this item above.
I even recall, in fact, a Veterans’ Day some years ago when I actually had to remind the proprietors of this site that November ll meant something larger and more emotionally tinged beyond its mere calendrical usefulness as an occasion for pre-Christmas retail sales.
Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.
Thank you, Cathar, for serving our country and thanks to all the other women and women who have served or who are currently serving. Your bravery, commitment and sacrifice has not gone unnoticed.
“Other men and women,” it should read…
Actually, Debbie, I’m sure you realize the issue is more complicated than your post indicates. But then too, this has not been a site noted much in the past for subtlety. Especially as regards political considerations and coverage.
You thus really shouldn’t be attempting to congratulate yourself today for somewhat rote mention of what, when I was growing up, we called “Armistice Day” and in the UK is still the very serious commemoration known as “Remembrance Day.”
You have my thanks too, Cathar.
This is a wonderful post.
I’m always struck when I meet a Vet, for some reason I expect them to look like unlike regular folks.
But that’s all they are. Though many were ordinary people who did extraordinary things.
God Bless ‘Em!!!
Thank you to all our veterans, especially my grandpa, Dominick Dalessio.
Thank you to cathar and all the men and women who have served…My Dad was a veteran and I’m remembering him in a special way today. When I went to the Pearl Harbor memorial several years ago, I was never so moved and enlightened as to the deep sacrifices our soldiers make. You are all our heroes.
To alll of those people who are here, on this site, that have served our county well, and given so much time, effort and in some cases their health or their life, never ever forget that “we the people” appreciate your efforts and while you may not always be in our mind, you all are always in our hearts! From MY heart and mind… You are special people, always and we humbly say, THANK YOU,
We’re free to post on Baristanet thanks to those who have served and protected our rights and freedoms.
Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar,
a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin
holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg – or perhaps another sort
of inner steel: the soul’s ally forged in the refinery of adversity.
Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no
badge or emblem. You can’t tell a vet just by looking.
What is a vet?
He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons
a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn’t run out of fuel.
He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown
frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours
of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
She is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every
night for two solid years in Da Nang.
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another—or didn’t come
back AT ALL.
He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat—but has saved
countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into
Marines, and teaching them to watch each other’s backs.
He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a
prosthetic hand.
He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at
the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the
anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield
or in the ocean’s sunless deep.
He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket—palsied now and
aggravatingly slow—who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day
long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being—a person who offered some
of his life’s most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed
his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing
more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation
ever known.
So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean
over and say Thank You. That’s all most people need, and in most cases it will
mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.
Remember this on Veterans Day:
“It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to
demonstrate.
It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose
coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.”
Father Dennis Edward O’Brien, USMC
Thank you for your moving words, Father O’Brien.
Thank you Debbie for remembering what today is all about.
Thank you Cather for your service, now it’s you turn to thank other veterans for their service.
Many of us served not because we wanted to but because we were needed during a difficult time in our nation’s past.
As a Vietnam Veteran, I also want to thank all those who have gave of themselves and to thank the mothers and fathers of those who gave their lives for this country.
God bless them all.
Sal is a great friend of mine and inspirational instructor. Thank you Salvatore A. Ferrara for serving our country
Father O’Brien’s post is a wonderful tribute to himself and the women and men who have served and who are currently protecting our freedoms.
Thank you!
Thanks to their selflessness and bravery under conditions I can’t imagine.
Remember tonight is the history of the flag at the Montclair Historical society on 108 Orange Road
Sorry if there was a misunderstanding re; my post. I am relaying a quote attributed to Father O’Brien. I am not Father O;Brain, I am just a Vietnam Vet who was touched by these words and wanted to share them with everyone on this day. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Ric S
Still beautiful words, ricrac. No harm in the misunderstanding.
As a Vietnam vet, I honor All Armed Forces veterans no matter where or when they served.. Thank you.
Cathar, I feel bad for you and all of the weight of bitterness that you carry around each day.
Thank you for the invite, Iceman, the topic is a fine one, one I would enjoy listening to.
My wife and I already have long-standing plans to take a friend out for her birthday.
I hope you have a good turnout.
Thank you to all our men and women who have served and are serving. Thank you Uncle Gene and Uncle Lou. Thank you Grandpa. Thank you cousin Johnathan. Thank you Hal.
God Bless Them All.