Community Corner
Garwood Gathers at the Knights of Columbus to Celebrate Memorial Day
The after-parade gathering was held on Monday.
After Monday's Memorial Day Parade in Cranford, the Knights of Columbus on South Avenue held services to honor the meaning of the holiday.
Thomas Englese of the Public Celebration Committee was the MC. He started the event by recognizing those in attendance such as current and retired policemen, members of the town council, the Garwood Fire Department, EMS, VFW and the residents of Garwood. He then led a prayer for the invocation before introducing Mayor Patricia Quattrocchi.
“Memorial Day is to honor those that have died during military service,” said Mayor Quattrocchi. “Memorial Day is an all American holiday that has its roots of women that decorated the graves of their loved ones that died in the Civil War.”
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She went on to discuss the beginnings of the holiday and what it means to Americans today including a call to enforcing the importance of what the day truly means. After the mayor spoke, a Memorial Day Ritual was performed by lighting candles and setting flowers.
Englese then introduced the guest speaker, USMC Sergeant PJ Lewis, by giving a background of his life. Lewis joined the Marines in June of 2004 before serving in various places around the world, including a tour in Iraq. His grandfather fought in the Marshall Islands during World War II. In December of 2010, Lewis was sworn in as a Garwood Police Patrolman. He still remains under contract with the Marines.
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Lewis had a speech prepared and eventually scrapped it and decided to go off the cuff in an attempt to celebrate the veterans that served before and with him all over the world.
“Any speech about me would take away from all of the men and women that made the ultimate sacrifice for this country,” he said. “They are the ones that should be honored because they are the reason we live today in the greatest country in the world. We must remember what today is all about. It is not about the start of the summer season, the days off of work, the hot dogs and beer. When you are at your picnics today, take a minute to thank a loved one or the family of a loved one for their service.”
Before guests mingled and had refreshments, Englese gave the benediction and trumpeters Kaitlyn Twaddle and Michael Banak performed "Taps."
