World War II Memorial Washes Up On Jersey Shore

The state is trying to find the owner of a World War II memorial that washed up on the Jersey Shore earlier this summer.

The memorial consists of an American flag, a PVC pole and a tribute sign to two World War II veterans: Charles Novara and Jay Waltman, according said Bob Considine, state Department of Environmental Protection.

“We really do want to get the flag back to its rightful owner,” Considine said. “You never know if it’s somebody who lives there year-round or somebody who stays for the summer..”

The DEP, which found the memorial during its annual “Barnegat Bay Blitz” cleanup, has been unsuccessful in finding the rightful owners. Officials have learned Novara was buried in New York, but have no other clues.

Because of the flag’s relatively unweathered condition, Considine believes it was planted recently, perhaps in the last year. He doesn’t believe it was related to Superstom Sandy.