'Home' Honors Hero With Street Naming on Veterans Day

Sun rays poured over the small lawn at Zion Lutheran Church Monday morning; the same area where Vincent E. Fields spent days of youth running and playing and Sunday mornings inside learning and worshipping.

It is that church, just a block down the road from the home he was born in, that now honors the World War II Marine for making the ultimate sacrifice.

Fields is one of three military personnel hailing from Long Valley who were killed in action. He died on March 6, 1945 during a night raid in Iwo Jima, Japan.

More than 68 years later, his hometown came together to honor his memory with the PFC. Vincent E. Fields Drive that brings motorists into the church’s property.

Organized by the American Veterans Association of Washington Township (AVAWT), more than a dozen local veterans spent a portion of their morning on the day named in their honor memorializing one of their own. Fields’ daughter, Kathleen Bessler and her sister-in-law Ann Berg were present to see the unveiling of the road sign.

“His home has recognized him,” Bessler said after the ceremony.  The longtime Long Valley resident was just 18-months-old when her father died in battle. “The church was the social point of the community back then, so to have the road here… it’s an honor.”

Washington Township Mayor Ken Short addressed the crowd of about 50 veterans, family members and friends, and read a proclamation acknowledging the honor of naming a local, private lane for a fallen hero.

“This is a day we have to remember,” Short said about the magnitude of Veterans Day.

Recently re-elected New Jersey Assemblyman Anthony Bucco echoed Short’s sentiments, reminding those in attendance about the state of veterans in the area.

“Veterans need our support,” Bucco said. “They are homeless, they are in need of medical help. It’s not just today to thank veterans, it needs to be done everyday.”

Bucco presented a New Jersey Resolution to Bessler and Berg for “the sacrifice Vincent E. Fields made in honor of freedom.”

This is the second road naming ceremony in Washington Township in 2013. Army Cpl. James “Jamie” Smith was honored on Memorial Day for his sacrifice during a battle in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993. On Saturday, Nov. 16, the community will again come together to honor John L. Lindaberry at Califon Cemetery for his sacrifice in the Vietnam War.

The AVAWT spent the earlier portion of the morning taking part in a flag raising ceremony at Old Farmers Road School, and often makes appearances at local schools speaking about service, history, and veterans.

Veterans Day shouldn’t be confined to a day in the middle of November, according to Bucco.

“Today we honor a hero, but tomorrow let us not forget what today is all about,” he said.