LONGPORT – American Legion Post 269 held its annual Veterans Day program in Thomas B. Reed Park on the 11th hour of the 11th day of November. The weather was sunny, frigid and windy, with gusts exceeding 40-miles-per-hour, but that was nothing compared to the difficulties faced by America’s war veterans.
Today is called Veterans Day – a day to honor those men and women who served their nation in both war time and peace – but it was originally known as Armistice Day, so declared at the end of World War I, which was then called the war that would end all wars.
Post Commander Larry Pacentrilli said despite the horrors of war endured during WWI, the country has gone on to fight other wars almost continually, and many of the men and women who perished in service to the nation are honored on another national holiday – Memorial Day.
“It’s a sad reminder that freedom is never free,” Pacentrilli said.
Members of Margate’s Eugene A. Tighe Middle School choral group sang the national anthem and ended the program singing “God Bless America.”
Mayor Patrick Armstrong spoke briefly and thanked those present for attending the service, which was held around the sundial monument honoring important historical dates in American military history. The Legion and its Auxiliary presented wreaths, which, because of the wind, were laid on the monument.
Pacentrilli noted that the Legion lost two of its most treasured members this year – 35-year U.S. Army veteran John Stroebele, a 25-year member of the organization and one of its most active members. He passed away on Oct. 21 after a monthslong illness.
“John rowed his boat off into the sunset, heading for what we Legionaires call, ‘Post everlasting,’” Pacentrilli said.
Stroebele was called into service locally as a member of the borough’s Volunteer Fire Department after he had a fire at his house. He was impressed with service to the community, and went on to become a commissioner and mayor.
Shortly after Stroebele’s passing, the Post lost another great member – Air Force Veteran Ken Ross, whose wife Georgianne is an active member of the Auxiliary.
“Our members enjoyed Ken’s sense of humor and we all respected his professional approach to anything he did,” Pacentrilli said. “He always did things right the first time” and led the effort to produce the Legion’s telephone directory and helped to organize the Wounded Warrior Week program.
After the ceremony, the veterans, their families and friends met for luncheon in the meeting room at Borough Hall sponsored by the Longport Public Library. On display was Stroebele’s uniform and a street sign from 26th Avenue, where the Stroebeles lived.
Longport American Legion held its annual Veterans Day ceremony in Thomas B. Reed Park, Nov. 11, 2025.
Copyright Fideri News Network 2025
