MARGATE – Veterans and their spouses were honored Monday with a luncheon at the Bloom Pavilion, which offered a dynamic view of the sparkling Atlantic Ocean. Mayor Michael Collins said it was the 18th year the city conducted the event to thank veterans and their families for the sacrifices they made in service to their country.
“It’s a privilege for me to be here, and next week will be the 70th anniversary of Veterans Day,” Collins said. “Today, it’s all about service and sacrifice and all of you have served, but in addition, we must put emphasis on the families, because they also made sacrifices. When veterans committed to service they often left behind their careers and families to fight for the freedoms we often take for granted.”
Members of the William H. Ross School Trailblazers Leadership Club attended the event to thank veterans for their service. They sang “God Bless America,” and “It’s a Grand Old Flag,” with music teacher Lindsey Evans accompanying them on guitar.
Teacher Tracey Magel said the students did well after holding just one practice session.
Collins said their presence reminds friends, neighbors and families that supporting veterans and showing gratitude and respect is a “promise to be shared by all of us.”
Carolyn Peterson and John Pratting of Angelic Health Hospice Care presented each veteran with a certificate of appreciation and a handmade greeting card thanking them for their service.
Veterans spoke briefly about their experiences, and several chose to thank their comrades in arms for their service. Others said they think often of their fellow service men and women, and one said he prays for them often. One Vietnam veteran said he still feels badly that when he returned home, people were protesting what they believed was an unjust and unwinnable war and calling soldiers, “baby killers.”
Billie Jane Maul of Atlantic City read a letter written by her father William C. Bayer shortly after he became a member of the National Army during WWI. Adjusting to camp life was “like a dream” trying to maintain order out of “what appeared to be so much chaos.” He eventually returned from war to become executive vice president of Boardwalk Bank.
Margate Fire Chief Dan Adams spoke about his grandfather who served in WWII. He was rejected from several branches of service until he was accepted into “CBs” or Construction Battalions responsible for building and maintaining airfields and other needed infrastructure in war zones.
Adams said one day he walked alongside his grandfather in a wheelchair and learned about his experiences during WWII.
“He never spoke about this to our family ever, but he opened up to me and talked about what he dealt with, what he saw and what he was a part of,” Adams said. “To me, it spoke volumes of my quiet grandfather who never said much of anything. But for me, I will forever treasure that time and those moments when I got to listen to what he experienced and how he dealt with it. Needless to say, it was the last time he spoke about it.”
When it was her turn to speak, Linda Janelli of Margate, said she served in the U.S. Air Force as a flight nurse from 1970 to 1991.
“When Marianne (Christian) called me for the luncheon, she asked my husband’s name, but I am the veteran,” she said.
Janelli served in the Philippines caring for soldiers returning from Vietnam and for POW flights. A graduate of Atlantic City High School, she attended nursing school at Cooper Hospital School of Nursing before working in the intensive care unit at Atlantic City Hospital.She said she visited a recruiter whom she told she would enlist but she didn’t want to serve stateside. She wanted to see something of the world, she said. First, she was sent to California, and then attended flight school in Texas.
She said she worked alongside men to do some of the heavy lifting required to properly care for patients injured in flight.
She recommended a book to read about the 350,000 women who served at all levels around the world during WWII, including as pilots, codebreakers, ordnance experts, gunnery instructors, parachute riggers, truck drivers, and more.
“Women had to go in and fill the jobs of the men who were called into combat,” she said.
“Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II” by Lena Andrews is available on Amazon.
Margate City held its 18th annual Veterans Day Luncheon Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 at the Bloom Pavilion.Copyright Access Network 2024
