It’s a more than two-decade old tradition that is unique to Maplewood: A Veterans Day Ceremony that is less about pomp and more about community, healing and grace.
The annual ceremony at Maplewood Town Hall — now celebrating its 22nd year — does include speeches and history lessons and music, but at its center is the testimony of the family members and veterans themselves who are offered the microphone to recount their service. The focus on the vets and families is the work of Township Clerk Liz Fritzen, Deputy Clerk Amari Allah and Assistant to the Clerk Ed Starzynski.
Attendees spoke of husbands, wives, grandfathers, fathers, uncles, brothers. One South Orange resident stood to speak of and remember a father she had never really known, who had died while fighting in WWII in 1944. She told of visiting his grave overseas.
Veterans focused on what they were fighting for — as well as the sacrifices of their families.
“When you see a veteran, do not thank them for their service,” said one vet. “Thank them for your freedom.”
Another veteran said: “And if you’re a vet, thank the families for their service.”
Jamaine Cripe, former Deputy Mayor, and current religious educator at Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit, led the Invocation and the Benediction, stressing compassion and grace.
“Let us feel held in the comfort of this community,” said Cripe. “May we discover new compassion for ourselves and for each other. May we meet this moment with gentleness, ease and gratitude. Because this air we breathe, these questions we ask together, it is for the justice that we seek together. They will help lead our songs and help honor the efforts of those who have come before us.”
During Benediction, Cripe said, “There are so many who have served those Stars and Stripes … Let us provide them with what they need, to provide for everyone, for all. Because this world is not a pie, there is plenty for everyone. And for us to give to someone who needs a little bit more does not take anything from us. Let us remember we are made of love. Remember we are made for love. So let us live in that love.”
VFW 10120 Commander B. John Kaufman quoted President John F. Kennedy. “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
B. John Kaufman at the podium as Jamaine Cripe looks on.
“We veterans have always served our country,” said Kaufman. “Now we have the opportunity to serve our country once again. This time, to stand up and make a statement for unity. Robert Calandra and I, your Color Guard this morning, politically speaking, we are not on the same side. But he and I and the other men in 10120, we think a call for unity would be a worthy endeavor….If we veterans who surely come from both sides of the political spectrum do this, we can be a model for the whole nation.”
Historian Stuart Lutz focused on the ingenuity and bravery of the country’s first Secretary of War Henry Knox, who as a bookstore-operating 25-year-old with scant military experience came up with the idea of moving captured artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston to drive out the British. “He had no military experience. .. His book shop was looted and destroyed.” But Knox’s ingenuity and the extraordinary effort of moving the artillery proved Knox’s value to General George Washington and provided a pivotal victory in the war for freedom.
Mayor Nancy Adams brought the themes of compassion, unity and the pursuit of freedom and democracy together.
“As we gather here to day it is incumbent upon us to also remember the democracy that our veterans fought for and died for, depends on each of us to keep it strong. Their sacrifice calls on us to stay informed, to stay engaged and to speak out when our values are threatened. Whether by marching, writing or raising our voices, we have a responsible to stand up to actions that endanger our republic and the freedoms that our veterans fought for.”
B. John Kaufman, Jamaine Cripe, Vic De Luca, Deb Engel, Garnett Hall, Mayor Nancy Adams, Dean Dafis, Malia Herman, Robert Calandra.
“Our democracy endures only when each of us does our part to uphold it,” said Adams.
Adams called on those present to live out the values that veterans “risked everything to protect. By serving others, caring for our neighbors and ensuring that our freedoms that they secured continue to thrive for generations to come.”
“To our veterans, thank you. We honor you. We are grateful for you. And we will never forget your service. May god bless our veterans, our community and this country of the United States of America.”
Robert Calandra and Bruno Lee
Bruno Lee
Deb Engel, Ian Grodman, Garnett Hall, Dean Dafis, Jane Collins-Colding and Malia Herman
Former Deputy Mayor Jamaine Cripe
Bill Tally and Ben Williams
