Memorial Day Especially Meaningful To Westfield Mayor

WESTFIELD, NJ — As people remember those who've died fighting for peace, Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle noted that Westfield's American Legion will host a small, recorded ceremony on Monday. It will be private to respect social distancing, but the video will be posted on the town's social media sites.

She also said in her nightly coronavirus update on Friday that the day is especially meaningful to her as her father, an air force pilot, died in Vietnam when she was six.

She wrote, "Memorial Day is personally meaningful to me as an opportunity to not only honor my dad who was killed in Vietnam, but to also pay tribute to all of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice defending our freedom. On Monday morning, the American Legion will once again host a ceremony at Monument Circle to honor our country’s fallen heroes. Due to distancing requirements, the ceremony is not able to be open to the public, but it will be recorded and available on the town’s social media pages so that we can all have the opportunity to witness the laying of the wreaths, hear the bells and bugle playing, listen to words of reflection, and pay proper tribute to the fallen. Thank you to the American Legion, who has found a way to honor those who died serving our country while also protecting public health, and to Police Chaplain Keith Gibbons for assisting with the arrangements." (The town's Facebook page is here.)

Brindle had shared a tribute to her dad this past Veteran's Day.

"My dad, Major David I. Wright, was an Air Force pilot whose plane was shot down over Vietnam on November 13, 1970...." she wrote in November. "I was only six years old, and my two older sisters were just eight and ten when we lost our dad. After he was killed, my mom moved our family from Nevada to Virginia where we started a new life as civilians, but our military friends never forgot us." Read more here.

Also in her Friday update, Brindle reminded residents to post photos of their home with patriotic decor and the Westfield 300 Memorial Day coloring sheets in the windows. Email pictures to westfield300@westfieldnj.gov and they may be shared with the community on Monday.

"And while you are on our website to download the coloring sheet, it’s a great time to read up on our Gold Star Streets, named for 18 Westfield residents who gave their lives during WWI," she wrote. "More than 100 years later, the names of these heroes are well-known to us and represented on street signs throughout town with gold stars on them. Find out more about each of them at https://bit.ly/goldstarstreets."

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