LONGPORT – Families of veterans have the opportunity for their loved ones to be honored with a banner that will fly over Ventnor Avenue six months out of the year.
On Monday, the nephew of the first honoree attended a small gathering at Longport Borough Hall to unveil the first 10 banners that will be erected on utility poles along Ventnor Avenue in the coming weeks.
John Reed of Longport holds banners honoring is father and uncle. John Reed, the nephew of U.S Army Pvt. John A. Kuzmann, for whom American Legion Post 469 was named, and the son of Thomas B. Reed, for whom a park was named, said he is very proud to be Kuzmann’s nephew.
“I take very seriously the borough honoring my uncle’s memory in this way,” Reed said. “This is very emotional for me. I can’t stop thinking that my grandson is now 21, and my uncle, whom I never met, was only 19 when he gave his life for our country just two months before the end of WWII.”
Kuzmann was killed in action in Okinawa April 8, 1945.
“When John and his buddies in the 96th Infantry, 382nd Division started advancing, there were inundated with sniper fire,” Kuzmann’s captain wrote the family following his death. “John was one of the men who volunteered to uproot the sniper. When the volunteers started to go over the hill, John was killed instantly by machine gun fire. Eventually, all of the volunteers were killed.”
It was about two months ago that Mayor Patrick Armstrong suggested to American Legion Post Commander Larry Pacentrilli that the borough might consider implementing the “Banners for Veterans” program.
Mayor Patrick Armstrong and John Reed Armstrong said he got the idea while attending a golf outing in Egg Harbor Township where there were veterans’ banners hanging. Additionally, Longport’s neighbor to the south – Margate also recently implemented a banner program in the Parkway section of Ventnor Avenue.
“My fellow commissioners, Dan Lawler and Jim Ulmer, agreed to the idea because we are all very close to our veterans,” said Armstrong, who immediately formed a community committee headed by American Legion Auxiliary President Dolores Wilson to see the project through.
Pacentrilli, who grew up across the street from Reed, recalled that in 1949 when both their families moved to Longport, the borough was a close-knit community where everyone knew each other and many of the dads served in WWII.
Larry Pacentrilli and Dolores Wilson "When Mayor Pat approached me with the project, I told him it was a great idea, but since many of the veterans are part of the Legion, it would best be implemented by a community group,” Pacentrilli said.
The Longport Beach Patrol, Police Department and Fire Department were the first to donate funds to pay for the banners, and private donations followed.
Under Wilson’s direction, the program progressed quickly and as soon as Atlantic City Electric provides a letter of support, the Department of Public Works will erect the first 10 banners.
The first banner will honor Kuzmann and will be placed on the pole closest to Thomas B. Reed Park at the foot of the Longport bridge where annual veterans’ ceremonies are held.
Kuzmann’s sister, Anne, married Thomas B. Reed, a founding member of the Legion and a longtime Borough Commissioner. They named their first son John to honor her brother and his sacrifice.
Reed said he attends the ceremony the Post holds each Memorial Day at Laurel Memorial Cemetery in Egg Harbor Township where his uncle is buried. Although Kuzmann died overseas, his parents had his body shipped home to Longport. A service was held in Longport Borough Hall before he was buried in Laurel Memorial Cemetery.
Others to be honored in the first round of banners are:
Thomas B. Reed
Sam Cianci
Andrew Funk Jr.
Hugo Pacentrilli
Herb Stern
Thomas Schnepp
John Scott
Alberg Anzardo
William Kunik
In all, there are 35 utility poles along Ventnor Avenue in Longport where banners can be erected. The first 10 banners will go up soon with another 10 currently in production at Allegra Marketing of Marmora.
Pacentrilli said he hopes to see 30 banners erected by Labor Day. The banners will stay up about six months out of the year, he said.
“We’ll get them up in time for Memorial Day and take them down after Veterans Day,” he said.
Anyone interested in having a loved one honored with a banner may submit a request to Dolores Wilson [email protected]. Submissions require a headshot photo of the veteran in uniform, along with rank, branch of service and years served.
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