Ocean City Flag Raising To Honor Vietnam Veterans

OCEAN CITY, NJ — On May 28, the daily flag raising ceremony at Ocean City Music Pier will honor graduates from Father Judge High School in Philadelphia who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.

The flag raising ceremony begins the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend at Music Pier and continues through Sept. 11, beginning at 9 a.m. to honor an individual or group.

Twenty-seven Father Judge graduates were killed in the Vietnam War, the highest number of lives lost by any private school in the United States, and a distinction shared with Philadelphia's Cardinal Dougherty and Northeast Catholic high schools.

The honor was supported by Ocean City classmates of the veterans: Ocean City American Legion Post 524 Commander Bob Marzulli, a member of the Father Judge Class of 1969, and the post’s Senior Vice-Commander, Pat Cummings, a member of the Father Judge Class of 1968.

"The idea is to have Father Judge veterans front and center as our American Flag is raised by their classmates," Mike Dufner, a member of the Class of 1970, said in a release.

Dufner, a full-time resident of Ocean City since 2006, began hosting a ceremony at his home to honor the veterans for those spending the weekend at the shore unable to attend the ceremony held at the school.

"Our ceremony, which started out with about 30 people has grown into a group of between 100 to 150 each Memorial Day," Dufner said. "The names of the 27 graduates are read along with those from Cardinal Dougherty and Northeast Catholic."

Dufner, a member of the Sons of the American Legion, approached the Ocean City American Legion Post about having Father Judge veterans participate in the Music Pier ceremony.

American Veterans Media produced a documentary about the Father Judge 27 titled "Remember the 27 Crusaders." It can be viewed for free online through Memorial Day.