JWV Jersey Shore Post 125 Completes a Noteworthy Year

Jersey Shore Post 125 represented the JWV with a tent at the 29th annual Oceanfest celebration on July Fourth in Long Branch, New Jersey. An estimated 225,000 people attended the event, and many stopped by Post 125’s tent to express their appreciation for the service of Jewish veterans. More than 20 volunteers manned the tent that day, including officers from National, the Department of New Jersey, and the Ladies Auxiliary. Oceanfest served as the season finale for Post 125’s year of activities.

The Post decided not to brave the cold weather, and moved its traditional Veterans Day Poppy Drive to Labor Day in 2018. Dedicated volunteers sold poppies at multiple locations, exceeding fundraising expectations. The money raised from the sales allows Post 125 to continue supporting programs and assisting the residents of New Jersey veterans’ homes.

Post activities during the fall months honored surviving World War II veterans with speakers from both Monmouth County’s active veteran services office and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. On Veterans Day, Post 125’s Gerald Levine, who serves as the Honorary Commander of the Department of New Jersey, lead a 21-bell salute in the city of Long Branch, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the World War I armistice. That ceremony also included a reading of the names of the victims from the shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue.

Following a winter slowdown, Post 125 hosted another World War II veterans’ event and ran an extremely successful Memorial Day poppy drive. The Post elected Levine as Honorary Post Commander, while the Department of New Jersey named Post 125 as its Post of the Year, and further honored Levine as its Person of the Year.

Volume 73. Number 3. 2019