On Saturday, April 24, in the Whiting section of Manchester Township, 30-acres of land officially became known as the World War II Veterans Memorial Park. As a result, the World War II veterans have left another legacy.
"Somebody had to do something to remember World War II, otherwise the sacrifice of those who served would have been forgotten," Donald Koos, a D-Day veteran of the 29th Infantry Division's 175 Infantry and a member of the Manchester Township Veterans Advisory committee, said.
At least 4,000 people came together at the Station Road location, with at least a quarter of those in attendance being World War II veterans traveling with
"This has been a labor of love seeing this come together. Everyone who works for the township and my employees have thrown their hearts and soul into this project. We have the largest veteran population in Ocean County and this is the best location for such a park. It's important that we have this ceremony today, because we are losing so many of these veterans everyday," Stephen Stanziano, director of public works and technical advisor for the park's development, said.
The recreational park, is in Ocean County and borders Joint Base-McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is complete with a flag garden, playgrounds and yet-to-be-completed softball and soccer field. At the center of the park is a bronze statue of a World War II Soldier overlooking a weapon with helmet resting on it, representing a lost comrade. Surrounding the statue are stone walls emblazoned with bronze depictions of each military branches that contributed the forces to the war effort.
"This area depicts an elegance in simplicity that tells the story of a generation," said Brian Hanlon, of Toms River-based Hanlon studio, who created the Soldier sculpture.
Beyond the statue are six trails each marked by plaques telling the story of the U.S. military branches involvement of World War II, complete with static displays and one of the park playgrounds designed in the military façade of a tank, military plane and a boat.
The park, which took three years to develop, used private, corporate and municipal funds to become a reality. On any given day no matter what the weather condition, members of the veterans committee, most of whom are World War II and Korean War veterans with their own stories, started their day at a local restaurant known as Heritage, planned their day and moved out to Ocean County area stores to collect anything from loose change to major contributions for a park expected to cost $190,000 before it is completed.
"All those World War II veterans could have just sat back and relaxed for their rest of their lives. Instead, they took on a new mission—one that now says 'this is our story and this is our sacrifice.' We are all here today to celebrate our freedoms because of what they did for this country," said Col. Timothy R. Williams, commander of the 72nd Field Artillery Brigade, Army Support Activity-Dix.
While each of the World Wart II veterans from the committee unveiled each wall, at the time of the unveiling of the center monument many veterans in the crowd joined in taking the cover off the center Soldier monument. But before it was unveiled, the Silver Star citation of Frank Barone and the unit citation for the 350th Infantry Regiment was read to the crowd that depicted the heroics of the man and his unit against enemy gun fire at Mount Bataglia, Italy. Then his grandchildren paid tribute to him, saying their grandfather taught them that 'all that you have at the end day is your family."
In a reading by Barone near the end of the ceremony, he looked back on his friend Bill, who sat around the veterans lodge with World War II and they shared their World War II stories. Later, Bill would continue telling the stories so much that those around him didn't believe him because it seemed he lived an uneventful life while at home.
"But what we want our country to remember most is let's give him the tribute he deserves when he passes and give them the headline that says 'our country is in mourning for a Soldier died today,'" he concluded.