LONGPORT – It didn’t go exactly as planned, but the borough provided retired U.S. Army Green Beret Sgt. 1st Class Chase Tanton, his wife, Rebecca, and their six children, ages 9 months to 16 years old, with a small-town America welcome at Borough Hall Wednesday evening.
The family arrived from their home in Provo, Utah, to enjoy a weeklong, all-expenses-paid vacation at the Jersey Shore late Tuesday evening, which pushed back a planned welcome parade to Wednesday.
Although the American Legion Post 469 had everything planned out to the minute in true military style, the weather unfortunately did not cooperate, and the parade was cancelled an hour before it was scheduled to begin.
The rain did not dampen the spirits of the family, Legionnaires or the community, however. The Tanton family was welcomed with an old fashioned BBQ, refreshments, a brass band, cheerleaders and gifts from the children of Longport. There were no motorcycles, motorcade, patriotic signs, fire trucks, or high school marching bands this year, but loving hands wrapped him in a beautiful patriotic quilt. Police Chief Frank Culmone presented Tanton with a handful of challenge coins to give to each of his children.
Commander Larry Pacentrilli said that it was the first time in the Wounded Warrior Week’s 14-year history that the sun did not shine on the borough’s guests.
“This is by far our proudest week in Longport,” Mayor Patrick Armstrong said, thanking everyone involved, especially the American Legion Post, which raises all the funds needed to shower their guests with a much-deserved Jersey-style vacation. Due to the size of their family, the Legion’s guests were housed in the rectory of a local church, where there is plenty of room for the couple and their children.
“We are Atlantic County, we are Downbeach, but most of all we are Longport, a pearl of a community that comes together, opens our hearts and homes and never forgets the sacrifices that the men and women of our Armed Services provide. They secure our freedoms and our children’s freedoms,” Armstrong said.
A group of children from Longport presented the Tanton children – Bronson, Camryn, Brock, Conrad, Claire and Lindsey – with gift bags that included a squishy miniature replica of the iconic smiley-faced water tower that bears the inscription, “Longport, the Best Port.”
Ventnor Commissioner Maria Mento became emotional as she presented Chase and Rebecca with gifts from Ventnor to thank them for their service to the country.
Jane French of the South Jersey Quilts of Valor Foundation presented Tanton with a comfort quilt. Since 2003, the organization has presented more than 422,000 service members with their own handmade quilt of valor.
“Although we will never know the extent of your sacrifice to protect and defend the United States of America, we present you with a quilt of valor as an expression of gratitude from a grateful nation,” she said before wrapping Tanton in the red, white and blue quilt.
The patchwork was pieced by New Jersey quiltmaker Joanne Voight of Franklinville, quilted by Sherry McClellan of Freehold and bound by Sara Copack of Haddon Township. The pattern is titled, “Determination,” she said.
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Chase Tanton Tanton was selected for the Legion’s annual Wounded Warrior Week honor because he sustained several injuries from IEDs during his deployments, most notably in 2010, in Maiwand District, Kandahar Province. While on an ATV patrol, one of the larger vehicles in the patrol hit an IED. Tanton was thrown approximately 20 feet in front of the vehicle, knocked unconscious and later was found to have been struck in his rear ballistic plate with the head of a sledgehammer that was blown out of one of the outside compartments on the vehicle, causing him to fracture two vertebrae.
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Chase Tanton
Despite his injury, which was unknown to him at the time, he treated and evacuated other injured members of his team and continued the mission. It wasn’t until years later that Tanton discovered the extent of his back injury when his fractured vertebrae collapsed, requiring emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on his spinal cord.
He has been awarded numerous service medals for bravery during his military service, including the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, Bronze Star Medal 3rd Award, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal 2nd Award, Army Commendation Medal 2nd Award, Army Achievement Medal, and more. Tanton medically retired from the military in February 2017.
He currently works as a patrol sergeant for the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, is a team leader on the Utah County Metro SWAT Team, teaches Tactical Combat Casualty Care and is an asset for Tactical Medicine for the state.
Wounded Warrior Week Welcome held at Borough Hall, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2015
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