OCEAN COUNTY – Ocean County College commemorated Veterans Day with its annual Salute to Veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces. The ceremony took place at the Veterans Memorial on the College’s main campus in Toms River and was open to the public.
The keynote speaker was Captain James B. Howell, Naval Support Activity Lakehurst commander and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst deputy commander.
“For me, Veterans’ Day is a day of gratitude, a day to express our deepest appreciation to the brave individuals who have chosen the path of service,” Howell said. “These veterans from all branches of the military have dedicated themselves to the call of duty and often at great personal sacrifice.”
Howell added, “we owe them a debt that can never truly be repaid but it is essential that we try. Our day to day lives are constantly filled with reminders of the sacrifices that veterans and their families have made so that we can enjoy the smallest of things.”
“We remember the past but we also look to the future. A future of an ongoing responsibility to support our veterans as they transition back to an increasingly complex civilian life,” Howell said.
Dr. Pamela Monaco, president of Ocean County College said, “Veterans Day as we know, is a day of acknowledgement and gratitude. It is a day for us to pause and remember and to be intentional in our appreciation for the courageous men and women who have served in our nation’s armed forces.”
Music was performed by the OCC Concert Band and student Speaker Sgt. 1st Andrew Clayton, OC/T Ops Group, Joint Force Headquarters, New Jersey Army National Guard spoke during the ceremony.
Clayton remarked during his speech, “It is not what you did in your service that makes you the veteran. Regardless of what you were thinking when you joined or when your draft number was called or when your recruiter dropped you off and you were freaking out – none of that mattered.”
“Once you raised your right hand and took an oath to defend this great nation and nobody can take that from us, and for that it is okay to be proud no matter what you did in your service and that is what I found as most important on Veterans’ Day. It is a time we are all equal no matter what your service was,” Clayton added.
A rifle squad salute was presented by members of American Legion Post 129, Toms River.
The service concluded with the Sounding of “Taps” by Ross Eadie, OCC Concert Band.
Present at this year’s ceremony with a table showcasing their services and some swag was the Veteran and Military Resource Center. Assistant Director Christina Hernandez runs the center at the college and she told Jersey Shore Online.com “we provide services to veterans, active military, National Guard reserves and their family members.”
“We have a lounge, a computer lab, a snack lounge like a mini-Red Cross,” she added. She said Clayton is the president of the Student Veterans Organization. “One of our members brought some shirts for a veterans’ organization he works with. We have a bit of a display here along with resource information for veterans.”
Clayton said one of the resources offered involve “suicide prevention for veterans and other information for veterans but mostly we want to engage with the other students and faculty at the school and have them engage with the other student veterans at the school to help bridge the gap.”
“We leave no question unanswered,” he added.
Hernandez said, “we are really excited. We have built the veterans program up and we are excited about all the things we’ve been able to do and the students we’ve been able to engage with. We have a number of veterans here and they are very excited to be part of it as well. We are happy to give back.”
For more information about veterans’ services at Ocean County College, visit go.ocean.edu/military or contact veterans@ocean.edu.
