JACKSON – Local veterans were honored for their service to our country at the 17th annual Wounded Warrior Escort.
The event was organized by former Jackson Mayor Michael Reina and was hosted by the Central Jersey Rifle and Pistol Club, which is located on South Stump Tavern Road in Jackson. Residents and community groups from the surrounding area showed up to support and honor those who served.
Veterans, motorcycle clubs, and contingents of Jackson’s emergency services gathered at the Jackson Justice Complex around 9 a.m. with the procession to the club beginning around 9:30. The path was led by Jackson fire trucks in the front, with the veterans being on motorcycles in the back. Once the veterans arrived at the club, they were treated to lunch with their families.
Reina put this event together to let veterans know that we care about them, as all people who have served are permanently affected in some way by their service to our country.
“I don’t think there’s a veteran who is not wounded in one way, shape, or form,” Reina said.
“We do this every year to let them know we care about them,” he said. “We appreciate their sacrifice, their service. It’s something that I tell everybody – you take a couple of minutes out of your day, it lasts a lifetime in their hearts. Between weather and schedules, each year it gets less and less, but that doesn’t mean we forgot about them. Even if there is only one that shows up, we are here for them.”
One of the community groups that played a major role in the event was the Central Jersey Spyder Ryders, a motorcycle group based in Jackson who have several veterans as members. One of these veterans was George Seufert, who served overseas in the Vietnam War. He spoke about what an event like this means to him, as many veterans from the Vietnam War were treated poorly when they first returned home from combat. He also said that it is events like this that help him and other Vietnam veterans look back on what they did with pride.
“It is nice to finally be appreciated for what you did as a teenager,” he said.
Daniel Profetto, who is the chapter president of the Central New Jersey Spyder Ryders, has wanted to do this event for the past few years and was excited to be able to play a meaningful role in the event and to honor our vets.
“Our group loves this, we love doing community stuff, and to show our support. We have done a lot of parades, and we get to make people happy, and we love that,” he said.
A few local politicians attended the event, including Ocean County Commissioner candidate Brandon Rose. Rose echoed the need to have a good turnout to these events to let the veterans know that we support them.
“Do what you can to support those who fought for you.”
The roads that the parade proceeds down are usually lined with cars and people waving American flags to show their support. Unfortunately, the civilian attendance numbers were severely hampered due to the poor weather rolling in at the time of the event. Despite this, several residents of the area did make their way to the Rifle and Pistol Club to show their support under the covering of a tent, as the event there was open to the public.
