Essex County Honors Four Veterans in Newark, from a 104-Year-Old Wwii Vet to Nutley's Mayor

One joined the Air Force in 1952 and served in the Korean War. One stepped away from running Nutley for six months to serve in Iraq. One fought in World War II and is now 104. On Monday, Essex County put them all in the same spotlight.

County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. hosted the county's annual Veterans Day observance on Monday, Nov. 9, at Essex County Veterans Memorial Park in Newark, two days ahead of Veterans Day on Wednesday, Nov. 11, the county said. Three veterans received Essex County Community Star Awards: Norris Holmes of Orange, Nutley Mayor John V. Kelly III and Saleem Muhammad of Newark. The county also recognized Frederick Dammont of Newark, 104.

Holmes, who turns 94 on Dec. 16, was born in Georgia and moved to Newark with his family in 1948. He joined the Air Force in 1952, served as an Airman 3 in the Air Police doing security work, fought in the Korean War and was stationed in North Africa and in Topeka, Kansas, according to the county. Kelly served in the Army and the Army National Guard, with deployments to the Middle East and to Puerto Rico on a humanitarian mission, and most recently spent six months in Iraq as a JAG officer while on leave from his mayoral duties. Dammont served in the Polish Army during World War II and fought alongside U.S. troops with the Allied Forces.

Muhammad, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War, now helps disabled veterans get the VA treatment and disability benefits they qualify for. When the pandemic kept veterans apart, he helped organize the Charlie Chapter of LZ Hope so they would still have a weekly place to gather, the county said, and he mentors young boys through a barbershop ministry. He remembered a different homecoming. "When we came home from Vietnam, we were not treated so well, so when you see a vet, please give them your thanks," he said.

Kelly turned the spotlight outward. "A veteran doesn't make the sacrifice alone," he said. "When someone goes away, it's a team effort." Positive Community publisher Adrian Counsel presented a Crispus Attucks Medal of Freedom to each honoree and to every veteran in attendance, part of a partnership marking the nation's 250th anniversary. Attucks was killed in the Boston Massacre in 1770 and is widely regarded as the first person killed in the American Revolution. "We are proud to stand with our veterans at this important occasion," DiVincenzo said.

Veterans Day was Wednesday. The Newark park, which opened in 2009 on the site of a former parking garage, is home to the county's Armed Forces Memorial. And Muhammad's request doesn't need a ceremony: see a vet, say thanks.

Source: Essex County.

File photo: Flags at the Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, May 2016. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)