Yet another annual event has been added to the growing list of those postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19, with Voorhees Township unable to host the seventh annual induction ceremony this past October for its wall of honor.
Initiated in 2014, the township ceremony inducted 39 individuals last year, bringing the total then to 436. The wall of honor that connects the municipal offices to the courtroom at Voorhees Town Center celebrates the lives of township residents and immediate family who have served in various military branches.
According to former township clerk Jeanette Schelberg, who created the wall and oversees the process of finding veterans to place on the wall with their pertinent information, the determination was made during mid-summer that the annual ceremony was not possible this year because of the event’s usually large crowd and older population.
“The way COVID was going at that point, we didn’t think people would feel comfortable congregating for the event because we always have such a large crowd,” Schelberg said.
Despite the lack of a formal ceremony, Schelberg has worked hard with the township to place five veterans on the wall by the end of the year. The hope is to include them in next year’s ceremony, if it can be held safely.
This years’ new members include Vincent Bognanni and Charles Philipsen, Army; James Healey, Navy; John Reeves II, Marine Corps; and Hermann Hoffmann, Merchant Marine.
“We’re currently processing them now and placing them on the wall this year, and if we’re able to have a ceremony in 2021, we will certainly include them in that ceremony as well,” Schelberg promised. “But I don’t want to make people wait over a year, in some cases, to see their plaques on the wall.”
Mayor Michael Mignogna has been with the Voorhees Township Committee since the wall’s inception. He said in a recent interview with The Sun that the township wants to find a way to host the event next year, if possible.
“In the many years I have been privileged to be the mayor of this wonderful community, the establishment of the Veterans Wall of Honor is the project of which I am proudest,” Mignogna noted. “Unfortunately, the pandemic has prevented the event this year. We have every intention of resuming this important event next year.
“Since the Wall was started in 2014 with the names of 234 deserving veterans, we have added more heroes to the wall every year,’’ he added. “Last year, we added a POW/MIA chair of honor in special recognition of those brave heroes. The annual event brings families together to honor and celebrate the bravery of members of their families who have served our country. It has become one of the most important and honored evenings of the year.”
Each year, the township traditionally chooses a unique part of a vet’s history to highlight and recognize. In previous years, Voorhees has included a POW/MIA chair of honor or United States Colored Troops section to the wall. This year, it had hoped to remember veterans who served in the Korean War; 2020 marks the 70th anniversary of that conflict’s start.
“We would have liked to acknowledge the Korean War this year, since it’s the 70th anniversary of the beginning of that war … It’s often remembered as ‘the forgotten war,’ so we would have liked to acknowledge their service in that war,” said Schelberg.
“Most people don’t know about that war.”
According to Schelberg, the Voorhees wall of honor currently has 35 Korean War veterans, while an additional 50 served during the war but were not deployed to Korea.
Although the wall has reached its seventh year in Voorhees, Schelberg said she is still contacted by township residents who are unaware of its existence.
The number of residents inducted year by year has decreased, as the task of finding veterans not already inducted has become more challenging. But Schelberg said the recent election may provide the key to honoring even more members of the community moving forward.
“On the ballot this year was a question as to whether or not residents want to extend the tax deduction to veterans who served in non-combat times,” she stated. “Previously, veterans were excluded if they didn’t serve in time of war … but now that that question has passed, that’s going to open up the ability to find a whole new group of veterans.”
Although this year’s event is off, the township clerk said Voorhees already looks forward to hosting it next year and watching as it continues to grow.
“We certainly missed being able to have it this year; we really enjoy it and I know the Mayor does too,” she said. “I’m hoping next year will have calmed down enough that we can bring it back and honor those that deserve to be on the wall.”
