South Brunswick Honors Resident & WWII Veteran Who Served In Pacific Theater

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Stephen J. Kish grew up stocking shelves at his family's small grocery store in Monmouth Junction. He left South Brunswick in 1942 to serve in the Pacific Theater, helping secure Allied victory in some of World War II's most brutal campaigns. He came home in 1945, went back to the family business, raised three kids, and volunteered as a firefighter.

Last week, South Brunswick made sure he won't be forgotten.

The township held a Veteran Street Dedication Ceremony honoring Corporal Kish, born in Jersey City in 1922 and raised in the Monmouth Junction section of South Brunswick, where he died at an unspecified age. His children — Jenny, Stevie, and Arnie — joined Mayor Charlie Carley, Deputy Mayor Ken Bierman, Councilwomen Jo Hochman and Ann Grover, Township Manager Bryan Bidlack, local veterans organization representatives, South Brunswick police and the Honor Guard, and community residents for the ceremony.

Kish entered active service with the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 and was assigned as a Parachute Rigger Repairman with the 336th Service Squadron, 58th Service Group. He served in the Pacific Theater through the Luzon, New Guinea, and Philippines Island campaigns, responsible for the inspection, maintenance, and preparation of airborne equipment — work that directly supported pilots and crews operating over some of the war's most contested skies.

For his service, he was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Service Medal, Liberation Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and the Philippines Liberation Ribbon. He received an honorable discharge in 1945.

VFW Commander Scott Weyd led the Pledge of Allegiance and recounted Kish's military record before Mayor Carley offered remarks on the importance of honoring veterans whose sacrifices shaped the nation's history. Deputy Mayor Bierman read the formal Township Resolution detailing Kish's service and accomplishments.

Stevie Kish, his son, unveiled the commemorative street sign during the ceremony. A roadway in the township — "Kish Way" — had previously been designated under South Brunswick's Veteran Street Sign Program to honor members of the Kish family; the ceremony formalized it as a continuing tribute to Corporal Kish specifically.

His daughter, Jenny (Kish) Cortes, offered remarks that captured both the weight of her father's generation and the limits of any single ceremony to contain it.

"As you drive around and see these dedicated streets, remember that these veterans are only a milli-fraction of the many who have served," she said. "Some came back and led a normal life while many others died or came back, their lives forever changed by the war."

South Brunswick's Veteran Street Sign Program recognizes honorably discharged wartime veterans with commemorative street signs along existing municipal roadways as a lasting tribute to their service.

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