27-05-2025
NJ Vietnam veterans memorial honors soldiers
HOLMDEL, N.J. (PIX11) — Those on this wall are gone, but never forgotten.
'It bothers me when people say 'Happy Memorial Day,' because it's not a happy occasion,' said Brian DuMont. 'They gave it all. Their last full measure.'
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A Hamilton resident and Vietnam era veteran, he is here to remember his friend and neighbor, John D. Ossmann, a Marine who gave his last full measure in 1967, just one month after landing in Vietnam. He was 19 years old.
'I was actually in Yokota, Japan, when he was killed in Vietnam,' said DuMont. 'He had his whole life ahead of him, and — just, gone.'
Dumont comes to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Museum in Holmdel each year to honor him. This year, he's brought a memorial trinket he made himself to sit below his spot on the wall, which is home to the names of more than 1,500 New Jerseyans who gave their lives in Vietnam.
This Memorial Day is a milestone, as the memorial marks its 30th anniversary of honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
'When they built this place 30 years ago, I don't know that they envisioned that 30 years later not only would we be here, but we have grown exponentially,' said Amy Osborn, CEO of the Memorial and Museum.
The museum site, just off the Garden State Parkway next to the PNC Arts Center, has been expanded several times over the years to educate the next generation. It's also home to one of the state's most attended Memorial Day services.
'When that bugle starts playing, we all feel it,' said Gerry Aponte, a veteran and leader of the Knights of Columbus. 'We're here to remember those that gave the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam – not just the ones that never came home, but those that came back that suffered from the issues they obtained in Vietnam, and we'll always remember that.'
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