MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE – MAY 29 – 11AM
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood American Legion Post 53 is conducting a Memorial Day service on Monday, May 29th 2017. It will take place at 11:00 am in Veterans Memorial Park at Van Neste Square. Everyone is invited to join us to honor all Americans who gave their lives so we can live in a free,secure and safe community
August 25th 2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, On Sunday, September 25, 2016 our Nation honors our Gold Star Mothers and families. The Presidential Proclamation in 2011 commemorating this day pronounces, “As members of a grateful Nation, we owe a debt we can never repay, but hold this sacred obligation forever in our hearts, minds, and actions. We honor their sacrifice, and stand with our service members, military families, and Gold Star families as they have stood for us.”
The American Legion Post 53 and Ridgewood NJ’s Blue Star Families are committed to bringing awareness to our community and to commemorate the sacrifices these mothers and their families have made for our Country.In the aftermath of World War I, Washington D.C. resident Grace Darling Seibold formed an organization called Gold Star Mothers to support the moms who had lost sons and daughters to the war. Grace’s son, First Lieutenant George Vaughn Seibold, was an aviator killed in combat over France in 1918. In 1928, the small D.C.-based group decided to nationalize its efforts. In 1936, a joint congressional resolution established the last Sunday in September as
Gold Star Mother’s Day. The Gold Star Mothers grew from a support group of 60 women to today’s extensive nationwide network with tens of thousands of members and hundreds of local chapters.
In Ridgewood, NJ the Gold Star Mother’s Day Committee will sponsor our fourth annualevent commemorating Gold Star Mother’s Day on Sunday, September 25, 2016. There will be a short ceremony starting promptly at 7:00 p.m. and hundreds of luminaries will be lit to honor Gold Star Mothers and their families. But in addition, our goal is to see thousands of other luminaries lit throughout Ridgewood and other towns on September 27th to honor the Gold Star Mothers and families!
Luminaries will be available for a donation before the ceremony at the following
location:
Residence of Bob Paoli, Commander American Legion Post #53,at 368 N. Pleasant Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ. 07450
Call 201-445-1738 to arrange time to pickup
Everyone also can stand with us in honoring the Gold Star Mothers and families by
helping to raise awareness through:
talking to your family, friends, and neighbors about the event;
joining us at Van Neste Park; and,
supporting this event with a donation (please make checks payable to the American
Legion Post #53, write “Gold Star event” on the memo line, and send it to the American Legion Post #53, P.O. Box 1525, Ridgewood, NJ 07450).
Thank you for your support and cooperation,/s/ Ridgewood, NJ Gold Star Mother’s Day Committee.
file photo by Boyd Loving
May 26,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The two major events on Memorial day in the Village of Ridgewood are the Fred D’Elia Ridgewood Run at Veteran’s Memorial Field, Monday at 8 a.m. and the American Legion Post 53 will host a service at Memorial Park Monday at 11 a.m. in Van Neste Square on East Ridgewood Avenue.
https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/
The kids were proud too, to take part in the placement of flags on the graves of veterans at Valleau Cemetery.
The tradition is that shortly before Memorial Day, American Legion members place U.S. flags on the graves of their fallen comrades at Valleau Cemetery.
The listing were incomplete and the Legion knew that their quiet tribute missed the graves of some veterans in the 33-acre cemetery. Some graves at Valleau go as far back to the Civil War.
In the past the Legion used what could only be described as a low-tech system for noting the graves of veterans. It consisted of seven plywood boards in the shape of sections of the cemetery. On top of the boards were worn-out sheets of paper with the names of the veterans and the plot numbers. A lot of those names and plot numbers are illegible . We just had to computerize the whole system.
17-year-old Boy Scout Andy Haderthauer, a junior at Ridgewood High School heard about the problem at a Memorial Day Service and applied his computing skills to come up with a solution. Haderthauer put in about 130 hours of work to set up a computerized a system .
With the help of Valleau Cemetery Superintendent Guy Kostka, Haderthauer began his project in August. First he put the board names on the computer list, then set out on a tour of the cemetery, looking over some gravestones that date to the early 1800s.
He also the help of some buddies and fellow Scouts, saving him days of walking the graveyard alone and three months later, Haderthauer had made up his list, and then used software to display the information by name and plot number.
Last year, there were only 350 graves at Valleau that were known to be the resting places of veterans. Now, double that number have been identified through Haderthauer’s efforts.
The project gained Haderthauer recognition as an Eagle Scout and the gratitude of the daughter of Master Sgt. Charles Ernest Hosking Jr. – a winner of the Medal of Honor. Hosking, a 24-year Army veteran, was awarded the military’s highest decoration after he was killed by an explosion in Vietnam in 1967. He jumped on a Vietnamese prisoner who was about to set off a grenade, protecting his men from the blast.
OCTOBER 28, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2015, 9:30 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
American Legion Post 53 hosted a dinner at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (OLMC) Church two Fridays ago in honor of Blue Star families.
Such families have at least one member currently in the military. They can be distinguished by a Blue Star Banner placed on the front of their house, with the number of stars on the banner representing the number of family members currently in the military. These banners are restricted to immediate family only.
“All veteran organizations give a Blue Star Banner to families who have a member … serving in the military,” said Robert Paoli, commander of Post 53. “The banner is displayed in the window of the home or perhaps hanging on the front door.”
The village has a large Blue Star family population, according to Paoli.
“Ridgewood has currently 25 (Blue Star) families,” he said. “I have given out over 100 banners in my tenure in the legion in the last several years.”
The annual dinner, which was invite only, took place in the OLMC parish center, and was catered by Mangiamo Restaurant & Pizza in Paramus.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ridgewood American Legion Post 53 was recently honored for its community service, receiving the Post Excellence Award.
The award, which is given to an American Legion post that has shown exceptional service to the community and those in need, was presented this summer at the 97th annual state convention at the Wildwood Convention Center, according to Bob Paoli, commander of the Ridgewood post.
To be considered for the award, a post must have achievements in the fields of membership, youth activities, community service and service to troops/veterans.
However, excellence in other categories is also a must, as evidenced by the fact that the Ridgewood post’s focus on “Americanism,” as Paoli puts it, was the thing that put the group over the edge.
“They praised us for American Legion principle No. 1, Americanism, for our annual Gold Star Mother’s Day event,” he said, referring to an event, hosted by the American Legion, at which mothers of fallen soldiers are honored. This year’s event is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 27 at Van Neste Square (see sibebar).
While being recognized with the award is great for the individual post, it is also useful for the organization as a whole.
“The purposes of this award are membership growth, exposure of American Legion values to the youth of the community and increased visibility of the American Legion Family through service projects,” the American Legion’s website said. “A post achieving this qualification will have had numerous post members involved in planning and achieving these goals.”
file photo by Boyd Loving
Memorial Day Service – May 25 at 11AM
Ridgewood NJ, American Legion Post 53 will conduct a Memorial Day service on Monday, May 25th 2015 . It will take place at 11 AM at Van Neste Square in downtown Ridgewood. Everyone is invited to attend.
file photo by Boyd Loving
Village of Ridgewood Veteran’s Day Ceremony
Presented by American Legion Post 53
American Legion Post 53 will conduct a Veterans Day ceremony on Tuesday, November 11th starting at 11 am. It will take place at Memorial Park in Van Neste Square. Everyone is invited especially VietNam era veterans who will be honored.
