MEMBER OF PICATINNY ARSENAL'S TREE MEMORIAL COMMITTEE

     In December 2010 the Post was invited to send a representative to become a permanent member of the Picatinny Arsenal's Tree Memorial Committee.Its mission is to honor New Jersey's military members who have fallen since September 11, 2001. Each memorial consists of a small stone bearing the fallen's name, rank, military service affiliation, date of death, and home town. The stone rests under a red maple tree (NJ's state tree).  A small American flag is placed to the right of the stone.  Since then, until this entry, 2018, 173 memorials have been placed aroung the arsenal's grounds. Each June, members of the fallens' families are invited to a ceremony honoring their fallen family member. After the ceremony, each family is escorted to their respective memorial.

     Post 344 has the high honor of replacing the flags at each tree memorial. This ritual is conducted twice a year, a week befor Memorial Day and a week before Veterans Day. The photo shows Post 344 legionnaires saluting a Tree Memorial after replacing the American Flag. L/R: Jim Cicatelli, Russ Hrdy, Robert De Blasi, John Quirke, Tom Holzman, John Lichtey