Home Recognizes Veterans in Ceremony

It is one of the few days of fanfare for the 300-plus veterans living in the Veterans Memorial Home in Paramus.

"They didn't serve and protect our nation for public recognition or fanfare," Dianne Tabron-Felder, CEO of the home, said in front of residents and guests at the home's annual Veterans Day Ceremony on Thursday.

The veterans living at the home, many who served during World War II and in Vietnam and Korea, were honored by several speakers, including William Weber. Weber, a Little Ferry resident, joined the Navy in 1966 and was wounded in Vietnam.

When he returned home, he served as a Bergen County Police Officer, retiring in 2009. Now a member of the Veterans Memorial Home advisory board, he asked guests to remember the plight of prisoners of war and missing in action soldiers. 

He saluted the veterans at the home for their service.

"We thank them for delivering us in our time of need," Weber said.

As part of the ceremony, Chief Bryan Gurney, president of the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association, announced that the association was donating a 32-inch flat-screen TV to the home. Gurney spoke of the bond between police and veterans, who share the task of defending citizens from harm, he said.

"We all know how important the veterans truly are," he said.

Members of several Veterans of Foreign Wars posts were in attendance, including Mary E. Clark. A former Navy nurse, Clark is a member of VFW Post 130 in Westwood.

The post, which has a member who is an inpatient at the home, has made several donations to the Veterans Memorial Home over the years.

"We are 100% behind our veterans," Clark said.

Tabron-Felder said the home was lucky to have supportive community organizations nearby.

"I've worked at other organizations and you have to go out there and try to raise money, but here, God just opened up a window and blessings are continuously flowing in," she said.

Tabron-Felder was appointed to her post in December by Gov. Chris Christie. The home observes Veterans Day early, since many of the 328 veterans living there receive visits from their families on Veterans Day itself.