Petition Proposes Preserving Memorial Field In Moorestown

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Last fall, Moorestown Council entered into the very early stages to move the baseball fields from Memorial Field, to be replaced by three soccer fields. A group of Vietnam War veterans took action, reminding council and residents of the township of the meaning behind Memorial Field.

The field is named for the Multi-War Memorial that stands at the entryway. It includes the names of all Moorestown residents who died in each of the World Wars, as well as the Vietnam War. There are about 35 names on the memorial.

Each baseball field is named after one of four Vietnam War heroes killed in combat: Howard H. Mayer, Roger A. Ross, Walter P. Seel and George S. Yohnnson. They were dedicated during one of the township's annual Memorial Day ceremonies in 2010.

After hearing the opposition and seeing the passion the veterans had for preserving the field as it is, council didn’t move forward with any plans to change Memorial Field. Read more here: Vietnam Vets Fight To Keep Memorial Field Honor In Moorestown

Now, a petition has been started to ensure Memorial Field is preserved forever. Tom McDonald, who has lived next to Memorial Field for 30 years and was a coach for 20 years, presented the petition to council at its meeting Monday night, May 20, at town hall.

In short, the petition asks council to pass an ordinance that calls for the Multi-War Memorial to be preserved and for no lights to be installed now or in the future. It also calls for residents to be considered for all future discussions about changes at Memorial Field.

“We had 400 people sign the petition,” McDonald said. “We had adults, seniors, coaches, vets, current military, current and ex-judges, an ex-governor, ex-council members. … Everyone we spoke to signed this petition.”

“Without this, the subject will continue to come up,” Roberta Scott said. “ … We hope you give this serious consideration.”

Township Solicitor Kevin Aberant said an ordinance only has teeth as long as the sitting council is in favor of it. Even if this council were to pass an ordinance, future councils could overturn it.

“We understand that, but an ordinance would make it harder to overturn,” Scott said. “The last time something came up, the information wasn’t exactly out there for the public to see.”

She was referring to discussions the township had prior to residents broaching the subject in public for the first time during the workshop session of the Sept. 10, 2018 meeting. Once the public had their say, the issue seemed to just go away, but residents want council’s decision to be memorialized.

Resident Fred Sutherland said the entire township uses Memorial Field, and suggested something like this should be put before the residents as a referendum. His father fought in Italy during World War II. His wife’s father fought in the Vietnam War when he was 40 years old, according to Kathy Sutherland.