American Legion Brings Home Meaning Of Independence Day

Members of the Seaside American Legion Post 351 prepare to fire the cannon in front of the post after an Independence Day ceremony. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)

  SEASIDE HEIGHTS – Amid the barbecues, fireworks, and parades during the Fourth of July weekend, there was one event with a more historic note that brought some meaning to the birthday of America.

  Members and guests of the Seaside American Legion Post 351 gathered in the meeting area inside the Post’s Bay Boulevard headquarters to hear Ian Worrell read passages of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.

  Independence Day was an appropriate time to review the historic documents of the nation’s founding fathers. Worrell was also joined by Post Commander Rich Angioletti, Service Officer Paul Lerin, who sang the National Anthem and provided some history about “Old Glory,” and Membership Chairman Mike Obssuth who presented an overview of the history of the American Legion.

  “I felt it was important to remind people about the importance of the Fourth of July. Many people associate July 4th with barbeques, picnics, fireworks and fun and that is part of what it is meant to be, and the freedoms we enjoy and are bestowed upon us – but if it weren’t for the courageous acts by people of the 18th century willing to put it all on the line, there would not be a United States of America,” Worrell said.

Seaside American Legion Post 351 Service Officer Paul Lerin talks about the history of the American flag during a special program held on July 4 in Seaside Heights. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)

  He added, “in July of 1776, the Revolutionary War, as it has come to be called, was in full swing. It started in 1775 in Concord Massachusetts by a group of farmers and tradesmen who stood up for what they believed in to be right to fight against increasing oppression.

  “By July of 1776 the Continental Congress felt it was necessary to lay out the reasons for the rebellion against the King of England,” Worrell said. He noted that on July 4, 1776, the arguments were presented in what became known as “the Declaration of Independence.”

  In reading the document, Worrell said, “we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men to derive at their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

  He also read each of the 10 Bill of Rights to the audience and introduced Lerin to provide some history about the American flag.

  “In my opinion the American flag is, as I see all the national flags of the nations around the globe, is the most beautiful flag of them all,” Lerin said as members of the audience applauded. “There is just something about it.

  “The Continental Army was in battle and protesting since1765 and the common flag with colonial colors featured a coiled-up rattlesnake. Another flag had ‘Don’t Tread on Me.’ Those were the Colonial flags at the time. On January 1, 1776, George Washington put up the flag on a 76-foot pole consisting of the stripes, red white and blue but the blue field was the Union Jack and that is what led them into battle,” Lerin said.

  Lerin said, a year later, “the United States Congress enacted the very first flag and declared the stars and stripes to be known as the United States of America’s flag.”

American Legion Post Adjutant Ian Worrell reads passages of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)

  Obssuth informed the audience that “American Legion was chartered by Congress on September 16, 1919 as a patriotic veterans’ organization for war weary soldiers after World War I. It was a place for vets to gather and it evolved into one of the most influential non-profit groups in the United States with more than a million members in this country. Now we have more than two million members and 13,000 posts worldwide. Today we have many programs that aid vets in the communities where we are located.”

  Later this month the Post will hold a special event called Summer Bash 2022, an American Legion Family Picnic from 1 – 5 p.m. on July 16 at the Post’s picnic area. Proceeds from the requested $25 donation will benefit Unit 351’s veterans’ programs.

  The menu includes hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, salads, desserts beverages, door prizes, games such as the best Hawaiian shirt contest. For tickets call Nancy Robbins at 732-644-1603.