Around 300 veterans take part in Veterans Day ceremony aboard Battleship New Jersey.
Just one day after the U.S. Marine Corps celebrated its 250th birthday, approximately 300 veterans representing all military branches gathered aboard the Battleship New Jersey to remember all Americans who served in the armed forces since the founding of the Republic.
“Each of us should pause today and in our hearts, and in our prayers, truly thank all veterans for those daily freedoms that so many Americans take for granted,” said retired Col. H.C. “Barney” Barnum, a Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Vietnam.
Legionnaire Jameel T. Sadiq, a member of Post 68 in Merchantville, N.J., attended the ceremony because “it’ a brotherhood.” The 90-year-old Navy veteran of Korea and Vietnam said, “Of 21 guys in my neighborhood, I’m the last living. Two died in Korea and two in Vietnam.”
“It is a profound honor to stand aboard the most decorated battleship in United States Navy history, on this Veterans Day, a day we pause to honor those who worn the cloth of our nation,” said Marine Brig. Gen. Dustin J. Byrum. Currently serving as the assistant deputy commandant for aviation, Byrum, along with Barnum, delivered one of the two keynote speeches of the morning’s ceremony.
Of the commitment to country and Constitution taken by all veterans, Byrum said, “You didn’t know where that oath would take you. You didn’t know if you’d see frontline combat or spend years in patient preparation. You didn’t know if you’d come home with medals on your chest or simply with the quiet satisfaction of having done your duty. But you took that oath anyway.”
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The USS New Jersey (BB-62), now a museum, is an Iowa-class battleship moored in Camden, N.J., just across the river from Philadelphia. It earned 19 battle and campaign stars for combat during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and operations in Lebanon.
“New Jersey veterans, welcome home,” said Marshall Spevak, CEO of the battleship. “You’re the hearts and soul of this ship. Every time one of you comes aboard, she becomes alive again, and we’re honored to have you back aboard your ship.”
Funding for decommissioned battleships operating as museums has been a challenge. Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J., addressed the issue in his remarks aboard the ship.
“I had the honor on Friday of introducing the Save Our Ship Act, which is a bill designed to not only preserve and pay for what we do here on the battleship, but for all the stewardship around the country, so that we can remember what it took to build this great nation,” Norcross said.
Speakers also acknowledged two Gold Star family members in attendance. Joseph Crescenz’s brother, Army Cpl. Michael J. Crescenz, lost his life in Vietnam on Nov. 20, 1968. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Melinda Kane’s son, Marine Cpl. Jeremy M. Kane, was killed on Jan. 23, 2010, while serving in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province.
“This morning, we stand, we sit in the shadows of giant men, who had hearts and great ideas,” Barnum said. “Men who marched away to face an enemy, and many never to return.”
- Honor & Remembrance