Military vehicles such as the Jeep and Humvee above were part of the township’s Memorial Day parade on May 26.
Mantua hosted its annual Memorial Day parade and service in the veteran’s square at the municipal building on May 26.
The event was a joint effort between the Mantua VFW, American Legion and Wenonah American Legion, as well as the Mantua Veterans Commission. Veterans who were a part of that group marched in the parade and greeted the small crowd in attendance.
Also in the parade were the Clearview Regional High School marching band – which performed the national anthem and other patriotic tunes – military vehicles and kids participating in the event’s bike contest.
Following the opening ceremony, Mantua American Legion Commander Rob Anderson gave a speech to the crowd.
“Society likes to use the word hero,” he said. “There are sports heroes, action heroes and political heroes. But if any group is more deserving of the title, it is the more than one million men and women who’ve sacrificed their lives in the defense of this nation.”
Anderson would then go on to tell the story of NFL football’s Jack Lummus, who played with the New York Giants in the 1940s. He gave up his career to enlist in the army following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and was among the first wave of troops to land on Iwo Jima in early 1945.
Lummus served valiantly, Anderson recounted, taking a number of major strongholds before he died after stepping on a landmine. The U.S. Army would posthumously award him the medal of honor.
“The true heroes are not the quarterbacks who successfully execute Hail Mary passes or the baseball players who hit walk-off home runs,” Anderson emphasized. “It isn’t the Hollywood actor who looks good and dodges imaginary bullets and fake explosions.
“It is the military veteran, the police officer, the firefighter and others who risk their lives, and far too often lose their lives, protecting people and defending all of us.”
Committeeman Jack Steen spoke at the festivities and noted how the country’s fallen heroes were not born into a uniform, but part of everyday families.
“I believe Memorial Day should also be a celebration of life,” he noted. “Not just for the lives that we lost, but for the lives they lived and the lives we’re privileged to live because of them.”
The township also honored late Mantua resident and veteran John George Forsman. He enlisted in the Army in 1949, according to the township, and went on to serve in the Korean War as part of the 82nd Airborne Division. Forsman passed away in 2007, and his family was presented with a township proclamation and a plaque.
Winners of the bike contest were awarded free state-of-the-art helmets from the local bike shop, Action Wheels.
