Who is this sailor about to go to war in 1944? Our own Society Treasurer, Mr. Paul V. Daly, CPA just supplied his service photo so we can include it in our website tribute to veterans. His name was one of more than thirty that the Borough added to the original Honor Roll in May 2011 when it adopted a more inclusive policy for including names of service personnel.
Any present or former resident of the Borough of Riverton, New Jersey who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States of America during a time of war, is eligible to have their name placed on the memorial.
To verify eligibility, you must present a copy of your DD-214 or a copy of your military orders.
Since then, Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies have accounted for adding another forty or so names of Rivertonians to that revered register. In just one week from today the VFW will perform a ceremony at the Riverton War Memorial on Sunday, May 26, 2013 at 10:30 a.m.
Memorial Day actually falls every year on the final Monday of May, so this Riverton observance is on the weekend so that more people may attend. Not to be confused with Veterans Day, it is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving, while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, living or dead.
Former Riverton resident Mrs. Jacalyn Buckalew Hicks is one who plans to witness the installation of a new plaque bearing the names of her parents, both now passed.
Recently, we had heard from Jacalyn, now living in Delran, through the HSR website when she asked for help with how to go about getting her parents’ names, Richard (Dick) Buckalew and Theresa (Terry) Buckalew, on the Riverton War Memorial.
We directed her to Riverton’s Military & Veterans Affairs Committee thru the Borough webpage, and she applied to have the names of her parents, both veterans of World War Two, added to the War Memorial.
With both parents being veterans, there had to be a great story there and daughter Jacalyn, or Jackie, as she signs her emails, elaborated.
She explained that they were longtime Riverton residents at 225 Elm Avenue and were the original owners of the home. She was very happy to learn of the Memorial and felt that her parents would be honored to be part of it. Jackie writes:
Mom was a nurse and my father was a wounded officer. She was from Jersey City and he was from Philly and they went all the way to England to meet during the war. They were married in England and honeymooned in Scotland. I am glad you can use the couple picture (for the website). I keep it framed on my mantle. I still have her uniform jacket and I still have the boots my dad wore when he landed on the beaches on D-day.
There’s a reason we call these men and women The Greatest Generation. Do you know of a veteran whose name needs to be listed on the Riverton Honor Roll? Let’s get the paperwork started. – John McCormick, Gaslight News editor