Camden and Gloucester County Commissioners Commemorate 82nd anniversary of Pearl Harbor December 7, 2023

 

Date:               Thursday, December 7

 Time:              10:15 a.m.    

Location:        Battleship New Jersey

100 Clinton Street

Camden, NJ 08103

Attendees:      Commissioner Melinda Kane

Ted Gallagher, director of Camden County Office of Veterans Affairs

Gloucester County Commissioners

Gloucester County Office of Veterans Affairs

John Brouse, Army veteran and Peter Molnar Award recipient

Rabbi Ephraim Epstein, Jewish Federation of Southern NJ

Patricia Jones, founder of Home Port Alliance and Battleship NJ board member

 

Details:           The Camden County Board of Commissioners will join the Office of Veterans Affairs, members of the

Gloucester County Board of Commissioners and local veterans on Thursday to honor the anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

 

December 7 also marks the 81st anniversary of the launch of the USS New Jersey.  The Battleship was built and launched from the

Philadelphia Navy Yard, just down river from her current location on the Camden Waterfront on December 7, 1942.   The Battleship will

be returning to the  Navy Yard for a planned dry  dock for preventive maintenance in early 2024.

 

Thursday marks the 82nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a military base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Within

just two hours, 18 US warships had been sunk or damaged, 188 aircrafts were destroyed, and 2,403 American servicemen

and women were killed. The attack marked the beginning of the United States involvement in World War II.

 

“This is an important day to commemorate as so many brave men and women lost their lives,” said Commissioner

Melinda Kane, liaison to the Camden County Office of Veterans Affairs. “December 7, 1941, was a day that our country,

and the entire world, changed forever and it is our duty to continue honoring the legacy of those who were lost in the

attack and educating future generations about what occurred that fateful day.”

 

The highlight of the event will be the presentation of the Peter Molnar Award to Army Veteran John Brouse, who has served

veterans in Camden County since 1991. The award is presented yearly at the Pearl Harbor Ceremony and is presented to

people who are significantly involved with veterans activities in the county and across the state.

 

Brouse served in Operation Desert Sheild/Desert Storm in 1990 and was deployed to Southwest Asia in 1991. Upon his

return to New Jersey, joined the American Legion FW Grigg Post 68 where he ultimately became Post Commander. Brouse

turned this post with declining membership into one of the premier posts in South Jersey through community engagement

and outreach. That success led Brouse to get involved with the American Legion at the county and state levels. Brouse has

served as a county vice commander and county commander of the American Legion.

 

Brouse’s biggest passion though is his involvement with PTSD, suicide awareness and service dog protocol awareness for

veterans. He began the Post 68 PTSD/Suicide Awareness Walk which is held each year in June and raises funds for VET Dog,

the organization which provided John with his service dog, Sarge.

 

“John is an incredible individual who has worked tirelessly to provide resources and support for veterans across the region,”

Kane said. “He and veterans like him are instrumental in the health and wellbeing of our veterans and we cannot emphasize

enough how thankful we are for these efforts.”

 

Berthed on the Camden Waterfront along the Delaware River, the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial offers self-guided

tours everyday from 10am 4pm, and guided tours daily at 12pm.  Families can enjoy a hot breakfast served from the chowline

and kids can meet and get their photo with Santa Claus during our annual Breakfast with Santa, Dec. 9 at 9am.  For tickets, visit

https://www.battleshipnewjersey.org/visit/purchase-tickets/  For more information about programs and events at the Battleship,

visit www.battleshipnewjersey.org.

 

                                                                                               

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