Patriotic Veterans Day ceremony was well-attended
Page 4 • Wednesday, November 19, 2014 • The Hammonton Gazette
VETERANS, from Page 1
ican Legion Post 186, Disabled american
Veterans [DaV] Chapter 66, local police and
fire department, Sons of italy, Boy Scouts,
Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts and Brownies were
also on hand to contribute to the program.
John Griffee, commander of the Veterans
of foreign Wars (VfW) Passalaqua Post
1026 in Hammonton, introduced the distinguished guests who attended the Veterans
Day program.
“We would like to recognize freeholder
Jim Bertino, our guest speaker Joe ingemi
and members of town council. We would
like to also recognize all members of veteran
organizations and veterans that are here
tonight,” Griffee said.
Councilman thomas Gribbin addressed
the attendees during the Veterans Day program, reflecting back on those that served
this country, including some family members.
“Just a few months ago, i, along with
Mayor [Stephen] DiDonato, Lt. Governor
[Kim] Guadagno and Congressman [frank]
LoBiondo had the privilege of welcoming
home the National Guard soldiers, the 150th
engineer Company based here in Hammonton. these men and women served nine
months in afghanistan. i brought my fiveyear-old daughter Grace with me that day, so
she can be in the presence of true heroes, to
teach her that these are the americans with
bravery and selflessness, allowing her the
ability to grow up in a free nation, the greatest nation in the world and be anything she wants to be.
“i want my daughters to grow up
with the same respect and admiration for our veterans that i am. it
wasn’t hard with me. i grew up with
heroes. Both of my late grandfathers
served in World War ii. in addition,
i had four uncles that served. they
are all my heroes,” Gribbin said.
Gribbin said the appreciation for
veterans must be established in
everyone, and events such as the
Veterans Day program held at the
Hammonton Middle School need to
continue.
“i would like to see more events
like this to honor our veterans. On
behalf of town council, i would like
to start the effort in creating a Veterans Day parade here in Hammonton
and see it flourish much like our triVets Memorial Day parade. i ask for
your support with this effort, to
work alongside our tri-Vets to make
this idea a reality. i know i will bring
my daughters to that parade, and i
know i will see you all there. We
must continue our appreciation for
veterans,” Gribbin said.
Bertino spoke about remembering
the veterans and honoring their
achievements.
“We would like to say thank you
for their sacrifice and their courage
and dedication. We stand in the
midst of patriots and the family and
friends of those who have nobly
served. for those veterans that are
here this evening, i thank you for answering the call of duty and you
have made our armed forces the
most respected in the world. the
service members we honor here
came from all walks of life. But they
have shared several fundamental
qualities. they possess character,
determination, selflessness, dedication to duty and integrity. all the
qualities needed to serve a cause
larger than one self,” Bertino said.
Griffee introduced the guest
speaker, Hammonton resident Joe
ingemi, at the Veteran’s Day program. ingemi was a graduate of the
United States Military academy in
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West Point in 1997. He was commissioned
as a military intelligence officer in the United
States army. He served five-and-a-half years
in the military, and earned the rank of captain
during that time. afterwards, he served two
tours in the Middle east.
after leaving the service, ingemi joined
the private sector working as a security consultant. He has a master’s degree in public
policy from Duke University, serves as a
commissioner at the atlanti