Township adds 39 veterans to Wall of Honor

Voorhees Township celebrated its sixth annual induction ceremony for the Voorhees Veterans Wall of Honor Monday, Oct. 21 at the Voorhees Town Center. Joined by Mayor Michael Mignogna, fellow township committee persons, township officials and more, the community gathered together to publicly thank and remember 39 veterans newly placed on the wall.

The wall, which connects the municipal offices to the court room in the Voorhees Town Center, was first created in 2014 with an inaugural class of 234 Voorhees veterans. This year, the 39 individuals inducted brought the total number to 436.

Among the new additions for this year were 15 Army veterans, 13 Navy veterans, six Air Force veterans and five former Marines.

Run by former township clerk Jeannette Schelberg, the wall is completely paid for by donations and gives each veteran their own plaque, complete with a picture and detailed information about their time in their respective branch, to ensure a story can be told.

This year is the first that the number of veterans inducted was an increase from the previous year, as the township has seen a decline in the number of veterans inducted year after year since the wall’s inception.

Voorhees Senior Living Sales and Marketing Director Stephanie Slimm saw news about the Wall of Honor in The Voorhees Sun earlier this year, prompting her to connect with the township and Schelberg about getting residents of the assisted living facility on the township wall.

According to Slimm, Voorhees Senior Living has a similar portion of its building that serves the same purpose, and wanted to be able to further recognize those at the facility.

“So I thought why not try to combine them because, if it weren’t for our veterans, we wouldn’t be able to have the entitlements that we have today,” Slimm said.

In making connection with Schelberg, approximately 20 veterans from Voorhees Senior Living were added to the wall at this year’s ceremony.

Also added to the Wall of Honor this year was the addition of a POW/MIA chair. In the past, the ceremony has celebrated additions of special sections of the wall dedicated to honor war dogs, African American soldiers from the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War, those killed in action and more.

Now, the wall also features the POW/MIA chair that sits roped off and not to be sat in in front of the plaque of Joseph Francis Toner, Schelberg’s brother.

Toner, a corporal in the U.S. Army, disappeared at the age of 19 in Korea during November 1950. After learning of the POW/MIA chair, Schelberg thought immediately that the chair would serve as a way to honor thousands across the country, as well as those who might be from New Jersey, Camden County or even Voorhees Township.

“A lot of these people, like my brother, were teenagers. They didn’t have a chance to come back and live their life, so they don’t have families to remember them,” Schelberg said. “But the purpose of this chair is to help keep it at the forefront of people’s minds, while also reminding those in the military, or those that might be thinking about joining the military, that there will always be people in this country that make sure our governmental officials do what they need to do to provide the resources to locate our missing and bring them home.”