photos courtesy of Congressman Josh Gottheimer
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, July 1, 2022, ahead of Independence Day, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) held a ceremony to recognize the heroic service of local North Jersey veterans and honor them with Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pins and long overdue replacement service medals.
The Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pins were originally created to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Vietnam War by the Department of Defense, which named Commemorative Partners to deliver lapel pins to living Vietnam-era veterans. Gottheimer helped the Ridgewood American Legion Post 53 cut through red tape to obtain the service pins for our deserving veterans and worked with the Department of Defense to award replacement service medals that went missing.
Gottheimer announced that he will be working with veterans and organizations across the Fifth District to ensure that all living Vietnam-era veterans receive the Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pin.
To honor the seven veterans recognized today for their service, Gottheimer had American flags flown over the U.S. Capitol.
Fifth District Vietnam-era veterans honored today include Retired Army Private First Class Joseph Burns of Ho-Ho-Kus, Retired Marine Corps Lance Corporal Raymond Litwitz of Ridgewood, Retired Army Commander Jerald J. Maksymowicz of Ridgewood, Retired Marine Corps Captain Gerald Bucci of Ridgewood, Retired Army Captain Wayne Lemme of Ramsey, Retired Army Specialist 4th Class Jack Marcasiano of Ridgewood, and Retired Army Specialist 5 Donald Gordon Myles. Carol Maksymowicz accepted the pin on behalf of her husband Jerald, who unfortunately could not attend, and Stan Myles accepted the replacement medals being posthumously presented to his father, Donald Myles. American Legion Post 53 Commander Bob Paoli accepted pins on behalf of Wayne Lemme and Jack Marcasiano.
“To all the veterans here, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service, for your courage, for your patriotism, your selflessness, for putting your lives on the line to defend our freedom, our families, and the greatest democracy the world has ever known. Please know this — after sacrificing so much, you should never struggle to get the care or recognition you have earned. These are not Democratic or Republican issues — they are principles of the country we live in, the one you protected, under the flag we all salute,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “The seven veterans we are recognizing today with the Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pins and long-overdue service medals exemplify our nation’s best, and we owe them a great deal of gratitude for their service and sacrifice. They did not swear an oath to a political party. They swore an oath to defend our country, and to our constitution – the very foundation of our democracy. They understood that our diversity is our greatest strength. That we should always put country ahead of party.”
“Veterans are a very small segment of our society, but a very important part of our society. We’re able to meet here today because of veterans. It doesn’t matter what you did as a veteran. It doesn’t matter. Everybody did their duty and everybody sacrificed and gave service to their country,” said American Legion Post 53 Commander Bob Paoli. “We live today in a society freely because of the veterans sacrificing themselves and continue to have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Gottheimer was joined today at the Ridgewood Public Library by American Legion Post 53 Commander Bob Paoli, Ridgewood Mayor Susan Knudsen, Bergen County Commissioner Ramon Hache, Bergen County Commissioner Mary Amoroso, Bergen County Commissioner Germaine Ortiz, Bergen County Commissioner Tom Sullivan, Director of Bergen County Veterans Services Shaun Hutchinson, and local veteran Chris Wyman.
