Belleville’s American Legion SAL squad swears in new officers

Sons of the American Legion Squadron 105 had its executive board and officers installed at the post home on Washington Avenue.

These officers were sworn in on Monday, June 12 by American Legion Essex County Executive Committee Adjutant Henry DelTosto, and will serve until June 2024.

Squadron Commander Steve Sangemino, as well as Adjutant and Finance Officer Rusty Myers, were both elected to their fifth terms as officers. First Vice Commander James Elsmore was elected to his second term, as was Joseph Florenza as sergeant-atarms.

All of the other officers were either elected or appointed to their first terms. The Squadron elected Second Vice Commander Vincent Ferriole and Third Vice Commander Richard Vlasakakis, and the commander appointed Anthony Noto as historian, Carl Slaughter as chaplain, and Robert Hildebrandt as service officer.

Squadron 105 had a banner year promoting the American Legion’s “Four Pillars” by putting more than $24,000 into projects serving veterans, the community, Americanism, and children and youth.

Elks Club has a Duck Race planned for mid-September

The Kearny-Belleville Elks have scheduled an Incredible Duck Race for Saturday, Sept. 16.

The event is free and will include live music, vendors, food trucks, a beer garden and more, according to a press release from the Elks Club.

Money raised through the Duck Race fundraiser helps to support Elks Club programs including scholarships, winter coats and books to children in need, furniture and household supplies to veterans transitioning from homelessness and care packages for patients at the East Orange veterans hospital.

For more information, check out www.INCREDIBLEDUCKRACE.com.

Historical Society restores and cleans gravestones of veterans

Members of the Belleville Historical Society spent several months restoring military and veteran monuments in Belleville and six other neighboring towns.

In the Veterans Circle in Glendale

Cemetery in Bloomfield where 4,500 veterans are buried, the Society identified and cleaned the gravestones of almost 300 soldiers who were killed in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

Memorials have also been restored in

Nutley, Kearny, Newark, Passaic and Montclair. The projects have ranged from restoring the gravestones of those killed in action to bronze plaques and life size statues. For additional information visit bellevillehistory.org.

Legion’s veterans, the Sons of the American Legion and the American

The American Legion Post 105 family, including

Auxiliary, sent a contingent to Wildwood to participate in the state convention. Here they are just before a parade that is part of the event.

Belleville dominates American Legion convention in Wildwood

The American Legion Post 105 Family put Belleville’s name at the forefront of the state at this year’s 2023 American Legion Department of New Jersey Convention in Wildwood.

The Post family is made up of the American Legion’s veterans, the Sons of the American Legion (SAL), and the American Legion Auxiliary (ALA). SAL Squadron 105 received multiple awards for its veterans in categories that included Americanism, Children and Youth Programs and had one of its own – Adjutant Rusty Myers – named as the Detachment of NJ’s 2022-23 Son of the Year.

Each year during the second week in June, people from American Legion posts around New Jersey gather in Wildwood for a state-wide convention. The convention sessions themselves are only two days, but events precede and follow those days of votes with receptions, parades, and “get togethers.”

Three years ago Belleville’s SAL Squadron 105 attended its first convention, which the post hadn’t participated in for more than two decades.

“This all started with three of us,” said SAL 105 Squadron Commander Stave Sangemino, pointing out that in that first year only three Sons made the trek to the shore. The second year, there were about 15 and this year, 60 members of the Post family participated in the Wildwood Convention.

On Saturday, the 105 proudly marched Belleville’s name down Atlantic Avenue in the Department Parade. Members of the Post color guard made the one-and-a-half mile march, carrying the five flags and dressed in the familiar white stars and stripes uniforms residents of Belleville see at many town events. Many also wore custom T-shirts that said; “105 IN THE HOUSE”

Following behind a brand-new Post 105 American Legion Family of Belleville banner were cars and 20-plus members marching and waving American flags.

Linda Doris, who is a member of the Belleville Legion Auxiliary Unit which just chartered in January, wrote on Facebook that this was her “…First time walking in a Veteran's Parade representing the Belleville Auxiliary. What an awesome and moving experience!”

The convention also gives the state an opportunity to tally up the accomplishments of all of the local and county organizations across the Legion Family. This tabulation, aside from giving national headquarters a precise idea of what the contributions from New Jersey are, also gives the state leadership an opportunity to recognize those posts, units, and squadrons which have excelled in running some of their own programs.

The Post came away with a membership award for going “over the top,” meaning they grew in membership this year. The Squadron received first place for membership growth in the state as well,

See BELLEVILLE, Page 10