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4.08.2010

Memorial Day Parade - 2010

Active Servicemen and Women to Be Honored At Memorial Day Parade


Nutley, NJ – The Veteran’s Council and the Office of the Mayor would like to once again invite Nutley residents enrolled in the Armed Forces and their families to participate by marching in the Memorial Day Parade.

“It is such a nice way to pay tribute to these men and women, and to be sure that their selfless service to our country is always remembered,” commented Mayor Joanne Cocchiola. “This also gives our community members the perfect opportunity to thank them.”

Servicemen, servicewomen and their families are asked to contact the Mayor’s Office to confirm their participation. Names will also be collected for the Memorial Day Parade Commemorative Service Banner, which features names of community members who are actively serving in the Armed Forces.

There are currently 35 names of active servicemen and servicewomen on the banner, which is hanging on the Oval fence by Town Hall, off of Chestnut Street.

The Memorial Day Parade will take place on Monday, May 31st with opening ceremonies commencing at 11am in the Nutley Park Oval. This year’s parade will boast active marching bands, dance troops and army vehicles.

In addition, children and adults alike will be invited to participate in a patriotic bicycle parade. Bicycle parade information will be distributed through local public schools and pre-schools.

Please contact Mayor Cocchiola’s office if you have a friend or family member serving who would like to either march in the parade, or be added to the banner – 973-284-4976 or mblank@nutleynj.org, or if you would like additional information about the parade.

You can also contact Jack Magnifico, President of The Veteran’s Council.

posted: Friday, March 26, 2010 at 9:43 AM

Joanne Cocchiola
Mayor

Township of Nutley, Dept. of Public Affairs
149 Chestnut Street
Nutley, NJ 07110
US
Office #: (973) 284-4972
Fax #: (973) 661-9411
mayorcocchiola@nutleynj.org

3.29.2010

Nutley Sons Honor Roll - print edition

NUTLEY SONS HONOR ROLL - Remembering The Men Who Paid For Our Freedom
4th Edition


Biographies of the men of Nutley, N.J., who died while in service. They were our sons, brothers, fathers, friends and uncles who walked, played, worked and died for our little township. In the last century, 138 Nutley sons died while in service to their country. Here are their stories.

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Nutley Sons Honor Roll, Nutley, N.J.

Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

3.27.2010

PACIFIC: Corp. Latham Wounded

(March 16, 1945) – Cpl. Robert H. Latham of the 4th Division, U.S. Marine Corps. has written his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arch A. Latham of 511 Centre street under the date of Feb. 27, that he was wounded at Iwo Jima and is now in an Army hospital out of the combat area. He told his parents that he could not tell them of the extent of his wounds but he did say that he and his fellow Marines were getting the best of care.

Cpl. Latham had previously taken part in the invasions of Roi and Namur in the Marshall Islands, also Saipan and Tinian in the Marianas and had come through without a scratch, although in the thick of battle throughout.

He was graduated from Nutley High school in February 1941 and enlisted in the Marines in September 1942.
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(April 11, 1945) – A Japanese mortar shell which landed in his foxhole on Iwo Jima terminated 15 months of fighting in the Pacific for Marine Corp. Robert Latham, 23, now on his way with 180 other casualties from a U.S. Naval hospital in California to a hospital in Philadelphia for convalescence.

Latham was in charge of an ammunition detail with a machine gun platoon and had been on Iwo two days when he was so seriously wounded that it necessitated his foot being amputated while in a shell hole by a medical corpsman.

During his ordeal, his parents learned, Cpl. Latham lighted and passed out cigarettes to other Marines who had also been wounded. Later at a hospital on Saipan where his left leg was amputated, he met the same medical corpsman, wounded at a later date, who said that it was Cpl. Latham’s composure which had enabled him to perform the operation without cracking up himself.

Source: The Nutley Sun

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Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

Nutley Sons Honor Roll, Nutley, N.J.
4th Edition ordering information


3.26.2010

PACIFIC: Vincent Fields

(April 6, 1945) - Pvt. Vincent Fields, 23, was reported killed in action at Iwo Jima.

Mrs. Fields, the former June Parr, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Parr of Carteret place, was advised that her husband was reported killed March 6. He was a member of the 4th Marine Division.

Pvt. Fields is the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Mervin Fields of Long Valley.
The couple was married May 29, 1942, in Vincent Methodist Church here.

He had been in service since last August and went overseas the middle of last November. Before he left this country, Mrs. Fields and their 19-month-old daughter spent three weeks with him in North Carolina.

Since her husband has been overseas, Mrs. Fields has been spending part of the time with his parents at Long Valley, but she was at her parents' for Easter when she received the report of his death.

Pvt. Fields attended Long Valley schools and was graduated from Hackettstown High school. He was employed by Wright Aeronautical company in Paterson before entering service.

The couple was married May 29, 1942, in Vincent Methodist Church here.

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Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

Nutley Sons Honor Roll, Nutley, N.J.
4th Edition ordering information


3.25.2010

PACIFIC: Arthur T. Abbott

(April 6, 1945) - Mr. and Mrs. Arthur T. Abbott of 32 Chestnut Street, the parents of Pfc. Arthur T. Abbott Jr., 24, were informed last week the Marine had been reported killed in action at Iwo Jima on March 4.

He attended Nutley High school and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md.

His wife is the former Shirley Slater of Montclair, and their two-year-old son Arthur 3rd. He has one brother, Robert, a student at Nutley High school, and a sister Mrs. Frederick Heany of Nutley.

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Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

Nutley Sons Honor Roll, Nutley, N.J.
4th Edition ordering information


3.24.2010

PACIFIC: Foti Survives Sinking of USS Luce, Sharks

USS Luce Survivor Relates Experiences

(July 13, 1945) – Aboard the destroyer USS Luce, which was sunk on the morning of May 4 when 27 Jap suicide planes attacked during the battle of Okinawa, Machinist’s Mate 3/c John Foti of 15 Duncan Place, who has just completed survivor leave lived a lifetime of nightmares in the one minute and ten seconds it took to sink the ship.
Foti was in the engine room when General Quarters sounded.

He started top side and was just coming out of the engine room hatch when the first suicide plane hit the ship. The explosion knocked him down the ladder but he escaped with only minor bruises.

Getting up, Foti tried to run to side again to man the gun, but he never made it.
“Everything happened so fast,” exclaimed Foti, “the planes were pealing off one after another at about 400 or 450 miles per hour.”

As Foti was running up the port side of the ship where the planes were attacking, the Luce received another hit back aft and was listing to the starboard.

Foti made his way to the starboard to get under cover from shrapnel as well as from the explosions of the ship’s ammunition.

But he no sooner arrived at his supposed haven of safety when the starboard took a direct hit.

Foti was blown down on the deck, face flat. Fourteen other men who were taking cover with him were killed instantly.

“Yes,” said Foti, I saw my buddies blown to bits and it certainly was a horrible mess.”

There wasn’t any time to stop and think then because the ship was listing so badly it was getting impossible to lie on the deck. To avoid falling over, Foti grabbed the rail and made his way toward the bridge. Many men who had gone over starboard were killed when the ship rolled on them.

Starboard and aft were now sinking fast. When Foti arrived at the bridge, another plane came in causing a terrible explosion. This was the third suicide plane to crash the ship in addition to one torpedo.

Badly bruised but with no serious injuries, Foti got up and with no helmet or life jacket climbed hand over hand to the port side where he could abandon ship. The “Skipper” was on the bridge and doing what he could to direct the men to the safest part of the ship.

From where Foti stood waiting to jump form the sinking destroyer, he could see the men already in the water being attacked by sharks and strafed by enemy planes. About this time, friendly aircraft came to the aid of the stricken vessel.

The ship was now at such an angle that Fote was standing on her side. Another explosion occurred and blew a torn life jacket within ten feet of him. Realizing that he had to act against time, he grabbed the jacket and jumped.

“Making a ten foot leap into the air, Foti hit the keel of the ship as she rolled over. Landing on his back, he slid from the slipper keel into the water. The destroyer was still underway and continued going on.

Unable to swim and with only a battered life jacket for security, Foti was now faced with a triple threat: drowning, enemy planes, and sharks.

Our planes were intercepting the Japs, and as a precaution against the sharks Foti rolled over and over in fuel oil til he was completely covered. “It burned my eyes so, I thought they’d pop out,” he remarked.

“A wounded ship-mate of mine held me up and I tried to hold on to him. We stayed in the water over an hour just hanging on to each other like that.”

A small American patrol ship came to the rescue and picked the survivors up. Foti and the men were then taken aboard a hospital ship where they received immediate care.

Foti said, “The Luce was an accurate ship, and until the day of the sinking she never received an enemy scratch even though we saw action in every engagement of the Philippines, the first two raids on the Nip homeland and in numerous attacks on Jap shipping.

Speaking of his experiences the day the destroyer was sunk, Foti said, “It was the most disastrous thing I ever went through. I never want to go through it again. The good Lord was with me but our losses were heavy.

“On a ship that small it’s tough because the men were very close. We knew all about each other’s families and girl friends – it was almost like seeing your own brother die.”

Source: The Nutley Sun
Adapted from the book.


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Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

Nutley Sons Honor Roll, Nutley, N.J.
4th Edition ordering information


3.23.2010

PACIFIC: Thurston Woodford

(Jan. 19, 1945) -- Seaman First-Class Thurston Fuller Woodford, son of C. Thurston Woodford of Verona, formerly of Nutley, was reported missing Nov. 10, 1944, after the explosion of the munitions ship, USS Mount Hood at its base in the South Pacific, on which he served.

Seaman Woodford is included in the Navy’s official casualty list released today.

His family received word from the Navy department on last Nov. 30 and it was confirmed after Christmas.

The 19-year-old member of the U.S. naval reserve last sent a letter written on Nov. 4 saying that the ship was waiting to discharge its cargo.

Woodford trained at Newport, R.I., and Norfolk, Va., going on active duty last Aug. 20.

His family last saw him in August when he was home on a five-day leave.

He was graduated with honors from Montclair Academy last June, where he was editor of the yearbook, a member of the tennis team, Forum and Red and Black, an honorary society. He has a brother William, M. a student at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

Woodford is listed on the tablets of the missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.

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Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

Nutley Sons Honor Roll, Nutley, N.J.
4th Edition ordering information


3.22.2010

PACIFIC: Herbert Washburne

(August 6, 1943) -- Seaman Second Class Herbert R. Washburne, 31, son of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert L. Washburne of 23 Orchard street, was killed in action aboard the U.S.S. Juneau, along with the five Sullivan brothers, during the Guadalcanal invasion on Nov. 13, 1942.

He was a radio technician and had been reported missing on Jan. 15.

Besides his parents, he leaves a brother, Pvt. John A. Washburne, who is with the Army Air Forces in North Africa.

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Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

Nutley Sons Honor Roll, Nutley, N.J.
4th Edition ordering information


3.21.2010

PACIFIC: Thomas Smith

(Dec. 7, 1945) -- While en route to the United States aboard the battle cruiser Guam, S 1/c Thomas Edward Smith, 19, son of Mrs. Alice Smith Van Dyne of Freeman place, was killed in a fall Nov. 30, according to a telegram received Tuesday by his mother.

Besides his mother, he leaves his step-father Gene Van Dyne, two brothers S 1/c Richard, and Harry, and a sister, Mrs. Alice Boyd.

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Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

Nutley Sons Honor Roll, Nutley, N.J.
4th Edition ordering information


3.20.2010

PACIFIC: Sgt. Thomas Maxham

(Jan. 12, 1945) – T-Sgt. Thomas J. Maxham was killed in a B-29 plane crash on take-off at Dudhkundi, India, on Dec. 24, 1944, according to a War Department telegram received Dec. 30.

Maxham, nephew of Mr. and Mrs. John T. Rhodes of Chase Street, with whom he lived for a long while, was a radar operator on a B-29.

With the first B-29 raiders on Japan, June 15, Sgt. Maxham participated in other raids on Japan, and held the Air Medal with an Oak Leaf Cluster.

He went overseas in April, and before entering service in March 1942, was employed at the General Instrument company, Elizabeth.

He had previously attended Nutley High School and had worked at the Charms Candy Company, Bloomfield.

A High Mass was held for him at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
His father, James J. Maxham resides at Woodhaven, N.Y.

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Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

Nutley Sons Honor Roll, Nutley, N.J.
4th Edition ordering information


3.19.2010

PACIFIC: Ens. William Louden

(Feb. 1, 1946) -- Ensign William Louden, reported missing in action since Nov. 13, 1944, is now officially listed as dead.

Ensign Louden was on a bombing strike when the torpedo bomber he piloted crashed in Cavite Harbor in the Philippines. He was attached to the Carrier Monterez.

Louden went through the local schools, graduating from Nutley High school.

He is survived by his mother Mrs. Flora C. Bornemann of Garden place, and a brother, Sgt. Henry C. Louden.

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Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

Nutley Sons Honor Roll, Nutley, N.J.
4th Edition ordering information


3.18.2010

PACIFIC: Emil Liloia

April 13, 1945) - Word has been received by Mr. and Mrs. Vito Frank Liloia of Passaic avenue that their son, Pfc. Emil M. Liloia, 21, USMC, was killed in action March 1 on Iwo Jima while serving with the 3rd Marine division.

Born in Belleville, Pfc. Liloia came to Nutley when he was three. He went through Nutley schools and while in high school starred on the football team. He was voted the best athlete of the year.

He received a scholarship to Temple University in Philadelphia and had played there only one year when he went into service.

Pfc. Liloia has four sisters, Ann, Ruth, Marie and Dorothy. A brother, SK 3/c Pat Liloia, has been in the Navy two and one half years and is at present on an oil tanker in the South Pacific.

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Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

Nutley Sons Honor Roll, Nutley, N.J.
4th Edition ordering information