Memorial Day Observances Mark Holiday

COURT HOUSE – Memorial Day, officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by Gen. John Logan, national commander, Grand Army of the Republic, was observed May 30 of that year. It marked the first time when flowers were placed at Arlington National Cemetery on graves of Union and Confederate soldiers.
Since then, every town in the county and nation sets aside a special remembrance for those killed serving in the nation’s armed forces.
Monday is a national holiday when all county, state and federal government offices, with few exceptions, are closed.
Cape May County Veterans’ Bureau will hold its Memorial Day service at 2 p.m. on Mon., May 30, at the Cape May County Veterans’ Cemetery.
Speakers are to include Freeholder Director Daniel Beyel and the Board of Chosen Freeholders and Navy Petty Officer First Class John Weigand, USNR, recently returned from Afghanistan.
The Coast Guard will provide its ceremonial detail and representatives from county veterans’ organizations will participate in the program that honors fallen veterans.
For information, contact the Veterans’ Bureau at (609) 886-2762.
AVALON
The Borough of Avalon will pay tribute to the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation country during a Memorial Day parade and ceremony on Mon., May 30.
A parade will begin at 9 a.m. at 34th Street and Dune Drive with a ceremony to follow at Veterans Plaza at 21st Street and Dune Drive.
“Memorial Day weekend is not only the official start of the summer tourism season in Avalon but it also provides an opportunity to honor those who lost their lives while protecting our freedom,” stated Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi. “Our parade and ceremony includes participation of men and women who served our country, and we are honored to thank them for their exemplary service.”
This year’s featured Memorial Day speaker will be Mary Conboy.
Conboy, a Pennsylvanian, is responsible for honoring her son’s last request by initiating “Operation Bedding,” which provides comforts of home for soldiers serving overseas.
On a Sunday morning in 2006, she received a telephone call from her son, Adam Conboy who served in the U.S. Marines in Iraq. Adam requested some basic supplies from home, including pillows and other items. Adam was quick to point out to his mother that whatever she sent had to be in multiples of 40 since there were 40 soldiers in his platoon.
Adam joked with his mother to “get Operation Bedding going” for the men and women who were serving overseas. Five days later, May 12, 2006, Conboy was killed in Iraq.
Mary Conboy started the Adam C. Conboy Memorial Fund, which initiated “Operation Bedding.”
The mission statement of the fund is to enhance the quality of life of all military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan by sending comforts of home to their remote locations.
To date, “Operation Bedding” has sent nearly 10,000 boxes of these comfort items to troops.
Some typical supplies that are included in boxes sent overseas from “Operation Bedding” include eye drops, pillows, bug spray, wash cloths, baby wipes, razors, tooth brushes, tooth paste, power bars, hard candy, gum, and moisture lotion.
To learn more on how to support “Operation Bedding” visit www.adamconboymemorialfund.org.
Avlon’s parade will line up at 8:45 a.m. at the Methodist Church, 34th and Dune Drive. It will begin promptly at 9 a.m., proceeding north on Dune Drive to the Avalon Veterans Plaza, at 21st Street.
In the event of rain, the parade will be cancelled but the ceremony will be held at Avalon Community Hall, 30th Street and the beach.
The ceremony will include American Legion Post 331, along with police, fire, and rescue equipment from Avalon and Stone Harbor.
The ceremony also includes a flag-raising, gun salute, and formal presentation of wreaths in memory of those men and women of the armed forces who have given their lives for our country.
For information, visit Avalon’s website, www.avalonboro.org.
NORTH WILDWOOD
The city’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5941 and the City of North Wildwood will host thee annual Memorial Day service on Mon, May 30 at 10 a.m. at the North Wildwood Veterans- MIA Memorial, New York and Spruce avenues.
Joseph A. Orlando, commander VFW Post 5941, stated, “Please take the time to come out and remember our deceased veterans from all wars that have answered the final call.”
WILDWOOD
Five Mile Beach’s Memorial Day services, hosted by American Legion Post No.184 and Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 955, will be held at 11 a.m. on Mon. May 30 at the Legion Post, Roberts and Atlantic avenues. Guest speakers will be retired Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Pierson, Freeholder Ralph Sheets, and a variety of speakers from the island’s city governments and military organizations.
For those who wish to walk with the Honor Guard, a second short ceremony will be held at Memory Lane crosses, Davis and Atlantic avenues. They will go through the park to have another brief service at the Vietnam Wall.
Wildwood Beach Patrol will then take a Police Explorer out in the ocean to place a wreath in honor of all who have given their lives so all may be free.
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP
Middle Township Recreation Department announced that the Memorial Day Parade would be held Mon. May 30, beginning 10 a.m. at Memorial Field in Court House.
If interested in being in the parade line up is 9:30 a.m. contact the Recreation Department (609) 465-8743 ext. 9.
Parade will end with a ceremony at the Thurston Elmer Wood Post 198, American Legion headquarters, at the corner of Hand Avenue and Dias Creek Road. After the ceremony, free hot dogs and soda will be provided inside the hall.
There is no rain date for the parade.
OCEAN CITY
The Memorial Day Weekend begins at noon, Fri, May 27 at the Ninth St. Beach opposite the Music Pier.
Mayor Jay A. Gillian plus former and present lifeguards will meet for the traditional turning of the key to “open” the ocean.
On May 30 at 9:15 a.m. on Moorlyn Terrace Beach, lifeguards will row a short distance from the beach and place a wreath on the Atlantic Ocean to remember all of the men and women who sacrificed their lives so that we can live free.
Ocean City’s Memorial Day Service is set for 11 a.m., May 30 at Veterans Memorial Park Fifth and Wesley Ave.
In event of inclement weather, service will be held in the Tabernacle Auditorium, Fifth and Wesley Ave.
SEAVILLE
The Memorial Day program at Staff Sgt. William Godfrey Memorial Park, Osprey Point, will be held at 9:30 a.m., Mon., May 30.
Members of VFW Post 8695, under the command of Charles Addelizi, American Legion Post 239 Rifle Squad, under the command of Hermon Scheibein, and many dignitaries are expected to attend.
Boy Scout Troop 55 will serve as the color guard and their bugler will play “Taps.”
The more than 60 veterans of Osprey Point along with visiting veterans will be acknowledged and entertained with patriotic songs.
All families, friends, and neighbors are welcome to honor and memorialize our Veterans for their service and sacrifice.
If there is inclement weather, the service will be held in the Osprey Point Clubhouse where light refreshments will be served.
The Godfrey Memorial Park at Osprey Point is located at 1731 Route 9, Seaville.
CAPE MAY
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 08-02 of Cape May will conduct its annual Memorial Day commemorative ceremony on the beach at Gurney Street at noon on May 30. The public is invited.
The Auxiliary will decorate a small boat with the National Ensign and flowers. It will be towed to sea at noon while a Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City drops a commemorative wreath into the water adjacent to the flower boat in memory of all those who served in the country’s wars.
The flower boat will be in place on the beach shortly before noon and will be attended by flotilla members, Coast Guard officers, city officials, local politicians, and the Coast Guard Training Center Ceremonial Detail consisting of color guard, rifle squad, and bugler who will sound “Taps” at the launching
Coast Guard Station Cape May plans to have one of its small search and rescue boats on static display on Beach Drive during the ceremony.
The boat will he attended by crewmen from Station Cape May. They will receive visitors, answer questions, and explain the purpose and function of the boat and its mission.
Station Cape May will also have a vessel standing guard at sea near the Auxiliary’s tow boat.
The unveiling and dedication of a historic plaque at Auxiliary Headquarters, 1519 Yacht Ave, will follow the ceremony.
The building is an historic site, over 120 years old, having been occupied by the Coast Guard as a boat house for vessels servicing aids to navigation lights in the area.
The plaque was made possible by a grant from the Cape May County Historical Commision which recognizes the facility as historic.
SEA ISLE CITY
The city’s Memorial Day ceremony will take place on Mon., May 30, 10 a.m., at Sea Isle’s Veterans Park, Landis Avenue and JFK Boulevard (also known as Veterans Boulevard).
Veterans Park, which was fully renovated in 2010, has a new flame on top of its memorial fountain, a large colonnade, new landscaping and stone walls that serve as benches.
Many local veterans will participate in Sea Isle’s Memorial Day ceremony, including the color guard from VFW Post 1963 and other veterans representing the individual wars fought during the past century.
There will also be a number of special guests in attendance from Sea Isle City and Cape May County, such as local religious leaders, elected officials and other notable figures.
Following the Memorial Day services, members of Sea Isle City’s Boy Scout Troop 76 will lead a procession to the beach at JFK Boulevard, where they will hand over floral wreaths to members of the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol. They will then row the flowers beyond the breakers and set them adrift at sea in honor of the many lives lost during American naval battles.
According to VFW Post 1963 Commander Charles Haines, there is good reason why the annual ceremony attracts many spectators.
“The crowds attending Sea Isle’s Memorial Day service have been increasing in recent years, which makes me and all of our local veterans feel good – and it strengthens my faith in America, especially when there’s so much else going on in our country,” stated Haines. “I think we have the best Memorial Day ceremony in Cape May County. There are always many members of our VFW in attendance – men and women alike – and the spectators who attend are clearly patriotic. Many local people have friends or family members who have served in the military, so we try to make the ceremony as special as possible.”STONE HARBOR
Experience an authentic small town parade. Parade begins at noon on 96th Street, just over the Great Channel Bridge on Stone Harbor Boulevard. A ceremony will follow at 96th St. and the beach. Move to the American Legion at 117th St. and Second Ave. for an Open House at 1 p.m. For information call (609) 368-1987.
The post headquarters is found at 117th Street and Second Avenue nestled near the Bird Sanctuary.