Just as Post 70 did in WWI, Nutley Post 70 of the American Legion presented a picture memorial to the Town honoring its 83 World War II dead in a brief ceremony in 1948.
The memorial, which contains photographs of 80 of the servicemen, was unveiled in the public library by Mrs. Mary Hanley of Race Street, former Army nurse and widow of First Lt. John M. Hanley, who was killed in action in World War II. She now is director of the home nursing service of the Jersey City Red Cross Chapter. An estimated audience of 75 persons, including a number of Gold Star Mothers and relatives of the honored servicemen, heard Post Commander Earl J. Crawford formally present the memorial to Mayor Jernick and through him to the town of Nutley.
Charles S. Hammond, Post historian, conducted the ceremony.
Jernick said: "Each of us here gathered knows only too well the horrors of war, its cruelties and tragedies, and so from that knowledge we should be prepared to work so that war may be forever be outlawed. War and civilization are antonyms -- we can't have both. But mere lip service is not enough. We must support that just hatred of war by concerted efforts to make another war unnecessary and impossible."
He concluded: "We can resolve here today that we will do everything we can for those who suffered so terribly during the most recent war, that we will provide aid for those still suffering, and that we will turn our efforts toward whatever cause will promote peace."
Hammond, explaining the memorial, said that it was a result of extensive research by the Post, and added that while pictures of three war dead had not been obtainable, the Post would continue to search for them.
Comparing the two World Wars, Hammond said that Nutley lost 83 servicemen out of a total of 2,900 in the recent war, while 17 men out of 217 represented lost their lives in World War I.
