(BELVIDERE, May 12, 2007) – Some were old soldiers, their World War II experiences now a memory more than six decades old. Others were only recently in Iraq or Afghanistan. And still others served during conflicts in between – Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon.

All were honored by the Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders during their fifth Veterans Recognition Ceremony, held under blue skies at the Warren County War Memorial next to the Courthouse in Belvidere.

“It’s our humble privilege to be here to honor you for all the sacrifices you have given,” Freeholder Director Everett A. Chamberlain told the veterans as he welcomed them, their families and other spectators to the ceremony.

The freeholders have recognized some 1,670 veterans since the program’s inception in 2004. At this year’s ceremony, 70 veterans were honored, with 40 of them attending or represented by their loved ones. All branches of the service – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard – were represented as the freeholders awarded the Warren County Distinguished Military Service Medal, a commemorative pin, and a certificate of merit to each veteran or deceased veteran’s survivors.

“Thank you for your selfless service in peacetime and in war,” New Jersey Veterans Services Officer Monica Banca, one of the program’s speakers, told the assembled veterans. “It’s this devotion to duty that gives the rest of us strength.”

Freeholder John DiMaio remarked that many people think about the little inconveniences they face in daily life, but he urged the crowd to give some thought to “the absolute disruption” that people face in their lives when they are called to serve their country.

Freeholder Richard D. Gardner noted the United States of America, as the world’s oldest democracy, owes an immense debt to the men and women in uniform for preserving our form of government and freedoms. Gardner said he hoped that in the future people will continue “to recognize the importance of our military. The people in the military have helped us to achieve great things.”

Also speaking on the nation’s debt to its servicemen and women was Assemblyman Michael Doherty, who noted, “At times they’ve been put in impossible situations, but they’ve always done what they were asked to do.”

The ceremony began with a vintage warplane flyover, and included a military escort by Charles Prestopine, dressed as a Revolutionary War soldier, and Andrew Drysdale, depicting a Civil War soldier. Eagle Scout Sean Wheatley of Boy Scout Troop 146, White Township, led the flag salute.

The Warren County Veterans Recognition Program is conducted by the freeholders with assistance from the Warren County War Memorial Corporation and the county Public Information Department. Applications for recognition are accepted year-round, and can be obtained from the Public Information Department by calling 908-475-6580. The application also is available to download from the county website by clicking here.

William Joseph Lamb III of Phillipsburg, an Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War, is congratulated after receiving his Warren County Distinguished Military Service medal from Freeholder Director Everett A. Chamberlain. Freeholders John DiMaio and Richard D. Gardner stand ready to present Lamb with a commemorative pin and a certificate of merit during the Warren County Veterans Recognition Program. In the background are county War Memorial Corp. trustees Leo Becker and John Hawk.

The military escort of War Memorial Corporation Trustees Charles Prestopine, dressed as a Revolutionary War soldier, and Andrew Drysdale, in Civil War garb, march with Eagle Scout Sean Wheatley of Boy Scout Troop 146, White Township, who led the Pledge of Allegiance.