Ardsley Comes Together To Honor 12 Who Died In War
ARDSLEY, NY — Last August, the village of Ardsley drew attention when 59 Military Tribute Banners honoring Ardsley’s men and women who served the country were displayed by family members and other sponsors at a ceremony held at Louis Pascone Memorial Park.
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The event represented one of the region’s largest levels of participation in the Military Tributes Banners program and the first of its kind in the Rivertowns.
Of those 59 banners displayed on street poles throughout the fall, 35 were Ardsley veterans who served during World War II. Two of them, who were killed during the bloodiest war in history, were represented, thanks to the generosity of an Ardsley business owner Maurice Hyacinth of HMH Management who decided to become a sponsor when he learned of the program.
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The program’s organizers — led by Sharon Colabello, daughter of the late Marty Engleman, a decorated World War II veteran who owned and operated Ardsley’s legendary Marty’s Mug & Munch from 1969 to 1989 — were seeking sponsors for a total of all the 14 young men from Ardsley who lost their lives in defense of America from 1941 to 1945.
The difficult task for the organizers was locating descendants and friends living in Ardsley who could sponsor the banners.
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The 14 men, whose names are engraved on Ardsley’s Roll of Honor, 1941-1945, at Louis Pascone Memorial Park, served in all branches of the U.S. military and fought in every major campaign —on the beaches of Normandy, in Europe, in the Italy, Tunisian and North Africa campaigns, in Iwo Jima.
Organizers said they fought on the ground in the infantry, on the seas and in the air and were privates, officers and non-commissioned officers.
Two were honored with Purple Hearts; one received an Air Medal for Bravery, another a Navy Meritorious Medal. All served with honor.
They left Ardsley as young men — several were teenagers — soon after Pearl Harbor was attacked, and none returned to Ardsley. They were among the estimated 407,000 American military deaths in World War II.
Hyacinth had no connection to any of the 14, but sponsored banners to honor two of them:
Now, thanks to a joint initiative, Ardsley Engine Company #1 and the Ardsley American Legion Post 458 will share the cost of producing Military Tribute Banners for the remaining 12 Ardsley young men who made the supreme sacrifice in World War II. It all began earlier this year when Jamie Macri, former Fire Chief, Ardsley Engine Company # 1, watched a Village Council meeting on Cable Access which featured an annual report presentation by the Ardsley Historical Society delivered by Peter Marcus. Macri noted from Marcus’ comments that there was still an outstanding need to produce banners for the 12. Clearly, this was a gap that needed to be closed, Macri thought, and he quickly recommended to the Ardsley Engine Company # 1 that their group step up and pay the cost for sponsoring six banners.
Steve Wittenberg, formerly a long-time Ardsley resident, veteran and Ardsley American Legion Post 458 commander who has remained engaged with the Ardsley Post in spite of having moved five years ago to Delaware, learned about the Engine Company’s initiative from Macri himself. Wittenberg then informed Efrain Hernandez, who succeeded him as Post commander.
The Post immediately agreed to finance the cost of producing the other six banners and also announced that the funds from the annual Poppy sales, to be held all day outside the entrance to DeCicco & Sons Saturday, will be used to pay for its share of the banners.
Efrain Hernandez, Commander, American Legion Post 458, said that thanks to the generosity of the Ardsley community, he was looking forward to a successful showing Saturday at the poppy sale.
“Shoppers, young and old, will make a difference to honor the young men of Ardsley who fell in battle during World War 11 by making it possible to sponsor banners in tribute to their sacrifice,” he told Patch.
The following are two lists of the Military Tribute Banners to honor Ardsley’s 12 who perished during World War II:
Sponsored by Ardsley Fire Engine Company # 1:
Sponsored by Ardsley American Legion Post 458:
Colabello said she cannot express the deep emotion she’s felt since the Ardsley program began last year
“The Ardsley community’s support speaks worlds about the pride it has for the sons and daughters who served, some making the supreme sacrifice as these 14 young men did,” she told Patch. “I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the members of Ardsley Engine Company #1 and the ArdsleyAmerican Legion Post 458 for their generosity that will assure that all the brave young men from Ardsley who fought and died for our freedom will all be represented in Ardsley’s next Military Tributes Banner display later this fall.”
Colabello said the initial Ardsley Military Tribute Banners program was so successful that, in addition to the recent commitment by the Ardsley Engine Company # 1 and Ardsley American Legion Post 458, about another 20 individuals have expressed interest in sponsoring banners for their loved ones that will be displayed later this year, together with the first group of 59 banners.
The cost of a Military Tribute Banner is $210. To sponsor your banner, visit: militarytributebanners.org, click “Banner Programs” and locate Ardsley under New York.
The deadline for ordering a banner to be displayed along with other banners of Ardsley’s veterans is July 31. For more information, email Sharon Colabello.
More information about the military service and family backgrounds including photos of the 14 Ardsley young men who served and did not return to their hometown are detailed in “Ardsley, NY The War Years: 1941-1945,” a book that was published by Fred N. Arone and Patricia Arone in 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the war. Copies of the 88-page volume are available at the Ardsley Public Library, Ardsley Historical Society and the Ardsley High School History Club.
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