Community Corner
Bayville Purple Heart Recipient To Be Honored At New York Jets Game
Lt. Col. Christopher Carbone, a two-time Purple Heart recipient, will be honored as the Jets' Veteran of the Game this month.
BERKELEY, NJ — The New York Jets will honor a two-time Purple Heart recipient and Bayville resident at an upcoming Monday night game.
Christopher Carbone, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, currently serves as chief of operations for the 99th Readiness Division’s Mission Command Support Group stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. He recently learned he would be honored as the Jets’ “Veteran of the Game” from Steven A. Castleton, Jets military and first responder liaison.
“We would be honored for you to be our Veteran of the Game for our Oct. 14 game against the Buffalo Bills,” Castleton said to Carbone as the latter’s fellow soldiers broke into applause.
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Carbone, who also served for 13 years as a police officer in Wayne, is the recipient of two Purple Hearts for injuries sustained in 2005 in Iraq and 2011 in Afghanistan. He has also been awarded the Army Commendation Medal with Valor, two Bronze Stars, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Combat Action Badge.
“It was rough, it was honorable, and it was awesome,” said Carbone of his time serving overseas, often in harm’s way. “I got the greatest gift this country could ever give someone – I got to lead her sons and daughters in combat. I was trusted with that.”
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The Jets’ Veteran of the Game program is part of the NFL’s Salute to Service Initiative. Each year, the NFL and its 32 teams honor and support service members, veterans, and their families by means of this initiative, which represents the NFL's unwavering dedication to honoring, empowering, and connecting service members, veterans, and their families.
“I set up a program several years ago for the Jets called our Veteran of the Game Program,” Castleton said. “We do this between the first and second quarter of every game. During that time, we actually bring a veteran out, all alone on the field, in front of 80,000 fans.”
The Jets (2-3) will host the Bills (3-2) on Monday, Oct. 14 at MetLife Stadium, with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. The game will air on ESPN.
Related article — Purple Heart Recipient, A Former Wayne Cop, Recounts Surviving IED Blast In Iraq
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