Veterans honored in Monday service

By Anna Rochelle MEMORIAL DAY MAHALO: In cemeteries across Greene County, the final resting places of veterans and civilians alike were decorated for Memorial Day. In the Worthington Cemetery, some very special flowers were placed on the grave of Alfred Livingston, the WWII sailor who lost his life in the attack on Pearl Harbor. In the aftermath, Livingston was buried as an unknown in the military cemetery known as the "Punch Bowl" in Hawaii. In 2006, Livingston's remains were identified and returned to Greene County. But for some time before the move, a woman named Jennifer Timmerman had been tending to his grave in Hawaii leaving remembrances on special holidays to thank him for his service. Though his remains were sent home, Timmerman has not forgotten Livingston and the sacrifice he made for our country. She made a call to the Watering Can Flower Shop in Linton and asked them to deliver a big bouquet to Alfred's grave in time for the holiday. The florist had to learn how to spell a word that is sacred in the Hawaiian language -- one that means thanks and shows the highest admiration and praise. The card read, "Mahalo, Jenny."

Departed Greene County Veterans were honored on Memorial Day in a special ceremony in Bloomfield sponsored by the Greene County Veterans Council.

Traditionally held on the lawn of the courthouse each year, it was moved inside on Monday afternoon due to wet weather.

The program opened with a moment of silence and the presentation of the colors by the Bloomfield High School NJROTC color guard. Rev. Eugene Helms gave the opening and closing prayer. Thomas K. Noble, Jr., LCDR, U.S. Navy Retired was the guest speaker.

A firing squad salute by the American Legion Post 196 of Bloomfield and the playing of "Taps" followed the annual roll call of the departed.

The names on this year's roll call included those Greene County Veterans who passed away in the last year, from May 17, 2008 through May 18, 2009: Jeffrey Alexander, Chester (Gene) Allen, Dwight "Bud" Allen, Lester Ball, Ralph Banner, Kenneth Barnes, Joseph Beadle, Marshall Bland, Donald Blanton, Melvin Blythe, Sr., Jerry Lee Boruff, Robert Botkin, Marion Bridges, Richard Brinson, Dale Bruhn, Charles Rogers Brummett, Robert Bruner, David Lee Burger and James William Burris;

Kenneth Calvert, Grady Caudell, Edwin Cavanaugh, Harry Samuel Clayton, Wilburn Dale Clayton, M. Wayne Clifford, Kevin Clinedinst, James W. (Lt. Col.) Cooper, John "Keith" Crane, James Davis, Wiliam Deischer, Timothy DeVito, Harold Dickey, Earl Dye, Larry Earle, Jerdon Emery, Dale Faught, Rev. Thomas Wm. Felker, Gerald Frye, James Frye, James Gadberry, Danny Gage, Dixie Glenn, James Goodman, Richard Goodson, Fred Griffith and Harry Groves;

Michael Haddix, Luther Haddock, Harold Hamilton, Daniel Hanson, Carl "Goatman" Harbrueger, Patrick Hardy, Kenneth Harris, Lorain (Ronnie) Harrison, Warren "Shorty" Hatfield, Jacob E. Hayden, Donald Hays, Charles Herron, Thomas Higgins, Sr., Earl Hofert, Jr., Robert Hord, Sr., Wilma Hugunin, James B. Isenogle, Owen Jackson, Earl Johnson, Richard Keller, Daniel Kelley, Joe Edgerwood, John B. Lenning and Elmo "Jerry" Love;

Robert Martin, Kenneth Marx, Harold May, Joseph Messick, Orville Miller, Robert Minks, Jerry Mitchell, Robert Moore, Dean Mumma, Dannie Myers, Danny Neal, Ronald Neidigh, John Nemeth, Bradley Owensby, Dallas "Duke" Padgett, James Parsley, Gareth Pipes, Harold Powell, Jeff Ramsey, Raymond Rawley, Richard Schroeder, Thomas Schultz, Walter Secrest, Daniel Sharp, Charles Franklin Simmons and Morris Sinclair;

Lanis Sipes, Virgil Smith, George Sparks, Morris Sparks, Kenneth Sprague, Amel Stevens, Raymond Stevens, Robert E. Sullivan, Ronald Tackett, Mark Thompson, William Thompson, Wayne Thorlton, Charles Timmons, Vernon Tracy, Lawrence Underwood, Joseph Wathen, Lester Watkins, William Weaver, Ellis Williams, Robert Wise and Clarence Wools.