Ardsley Engine Company # 1 and Ardsley American Legion Post 458 to Share Costs; Post 458 Will Fund Costs of Banners with Proceeds from Annual Poppy Sales on May 20
In August 2022, the Village of Ardsley made headlines when 59 Military Tribute Banners honoring Ardsley’s men and women who served in the U.S. military were displayed by family members and other sponsors at a ceremony held at Louis Pascone Memorial Park. It represented one of the region’s largest levels of participation in the Military Tributes Banners program and the first-of-its-kind in the Rivertowns.
Of the 59 banners that were prominently displayed on street poles throughout the fall, 35 were Ardsley veterans who served during World War II. Two of them, who were killed during the bloodiest war in history, were represented, thanks to the generosity of an Ardsley business owner, Maurice Hyacinth of HMH Management who decided to become a sponsor when he learned of the program. As it turns out, the program’s organizers led by Sharon Colabello, daughter of the late Marty Engleman, adecorated World War II veteran who owned and operated Ardsley’s legendary Marty’s Mug & Munch from 1969 to 1989, were seeking sponsors for a total of all the 14 young men from Ardsley who lost their lives in defense of America from 1941 to 1945. The difficult task for the organizers was locating descendants and friends living in Ardsley who would sponsor banners for all 14.
The 14, whose names are engraved on Ardsley’s Roll of Honor, 1941-1945 at Louis Pascone Memorial Park where their sacrifices are recalled and honored by the community during Memorial Day ceremonies, served in all branches of the U.S. military and fought in every major campaign —on the beaches of Normandy, in Europe, in the Italy, Tunisian and North Africa campaigns, in Iwo Jima. They fought on the ground in the infantry, on the seas and in the air. They were privates, officers and non-commissioned officers. Two of them were honored with Purple Hearts; one received an Air Medal for Bravery, another a Navy Meritorious Medal. All served with honor. All left Ardsley as young men—several were teenagers—soon after Pearl Harbor was attacked. And none returned to Ardsley. They were among the approximate 407,000 American military deaths in World War II.
Hyacinth had no connection to any of the 14 but sponsored banners to honor two of them:
· Robert E. Bunch, Jr. (Ardsley High School (AHS) Class of ’42), who served with the U.S. Army’s 90th Infantry Division, saw action on Utah Beach, Normandy in June 1944, earning a Purple Heart and was killed by hostile fire in Germany on April 8, 1945 (Note: his father served as Mayor of Ardsley from 1951-53)
· Charles E. Duryea (AHS Class of 1940) who served with the U.S. Marine Corps—4th Marine Division and was killed in action in Iwo Jima on February 27, 1945.
Now, thanks to a joint initiative, Ardsley Engine Company #1 and the Ardsley American Legion Post 458 will share the cost of producing Military Tribute Banners for the remaining 12 Ardsley young men who made the supreme sacrifice in World War II. It all began earlier this year when Jamie Macri, former Fire Chief, Ardsley Engine Company # 1, watched a Village Council meeting on Cable Access which featured an annual report presentation by the Ardsley Historical Society delivered by Peter Marcus. Macri noted from Marcus’ comments that there was still an outstanding need to produce banners for the 12. Clearly, this was a gap that needed to be closed, Macri thought, and he quickly recommended to the Ardsley Engine Company # 1 that their group step up and pay the cost for sponsoring six banners.
Steve Wittenberg, formerly a long-time Ardsley resident, veteran and Ardsley American Legion Post 458 commander who has remained engaged with the Ardsley Post in spite of having moved five years ago to Delaware, learned about the Engine Company’s initiative from Macri himself. Wittenberg then informed Efrain Hernandez, who succeeded him as Post commander. The Post immediately agreed to finance the cost of producing the other 6 banners. The Post also announced that the funds from the annual Poppy sales, to be held all day outside the entrance to DeCicco’s Supermarket, Saturday, May 20, will be used to pay for its share of the banners.
The following are two lists of the Military Tribute Banners to honor Ardsley’s 12 who perished during World War II:
Sponsored by Ardsley Fire Engine Company # 1
· Fred C. Baker (AHS, Class of year), 2nd Lieutenant, U.S. Army, killed in Normandy, D-Day
· James B. Mackenzie (AHS Class of ’39), Merchant Marines-U.S. Navy, Lt. JG
· Thomas F. Mack, Jr. (AHS Class of ’38), Master Sergeant, U.S. Army, 10th Mountain Division, Italy Campaign
· George H. Hauptman, Jr. (AHS Class of ’41), Anti-aircraft gunner, U.S. Army
· David W. Longmuir (AHS Class of ’37), U.S. Army Air Corps Merchant Marines (Note: enlisted on December 8, 1941, day after the attack on Pearl Harbor)
· Angelo L. Delmerico (AHS Class of ’37), staff sergeant, U.S. Army, 85th Infantry Division, Purple Heart
Sponsored by Ardsley American Legion Post 458
· Kenneth D. Wood (AHS, Class of ’42), 2nd Lieutenant, 9th Air Force, Army Air Corps, Air Medal for Bravery
· Gordon B. Kreutz (AHS, Class of’44), machine gunner with U.S. Army (General Patton’s Third Army)
· Howard R. Secor (AHS Class of ’41), U.S. Navy, submarine service, U.S. Navy Meritorious Medal
· Daniel R. Geis (AHS Class of ’37), Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army artillery, Italy Invasion, North Africa and Tunisian campaigns
· Edward J. Lynn, Jr (AHS, Class of ’42), Private First Class, U.S. Army, 29th Infantry Division
· Robert L. Kakerbeck (native of Ardsley whose schooling was divided between Ardsley elementary and Elmsford high school), fighter pilot, Army Air Corps, 336 Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group
Ms. Colabello, said: “I cannot express the deep emotion I have felt since the Ardsley program began last year The Ardsley community’s support speaks worlds about the pride it has for the sons and daughters who served, some making the supreme sacrifice as these 14 young men did,” adding: “I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the members of Ardsley Engine Company #1 and the Ardsley American Legion Post 458 for their generosity that will assure that all the brave young men from Ardsley who fought and died for our freedom will all be represented in Ardsley’s next Military Tributes Banner display later this fall.”
| Colabello says the initial Ardsley Military Tribute Banners program was so successful that, in addition to the recent commitment by the Ardsley Engine Company # 1 and Ardsley American Legion Post 458, about another 20 individuals have expressed interest in sponsoring banners for their loved ones that will be displayed later this year, together with the first group of 59 banners. The cost of a Military Tribute Banner is $210.00. To sponsor your banner, visit: militarytributebanners.org, click ‘Banner Programs’ & locateARDSLEY, NY’. The deadline for ordering a banner to be displayed along with other banners of Ardsley’s veterans is July 31, 2023. For more information, contact Sharon Colabello at ardsleymilitarybanners2022@gmail.com Note: More information about the military service and family backgrounds including photos of the 14 Ardsley young men who served and did not return to their hometown are detailed in “Ardsley, NY The War Years: 1941-1945,” a book that was published by Fred N. Arone and Patricia Arone in 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the war. Copies of the 88-page volume are available at the Ardsley Public Library, Ardsley Historical Society and the Ardsley High School History Club. |
