On this Memorial Day, we remember our war dead so that we might use their example as a compass for our actions today and tomorrow.
Memory is for the enlightenment of the living.
There’s a young man named William Mulvey. He lies on Fresh Ponds
Road. Serving with the First Regiment in Company H of the NJ Volunteers, he died at the age of 19 at the First Battle of Cold Harbor in Virginia during the Civil War.
There are two young flyers at the Dayton Cemetery on Georges Road,
both casualties of the Second World War – Lieutenant John Wilson who died at Kelly Field in Texas and Lieutenant John William Farnkopf who died in the skies over Austria.
Lt. Farnkopf rests beside his father, who fought in the First World War.
Our American Legion post on Major Road is across from Lt. Farnkopf’s
home and holds his name.
Stephen Chester Ponty, Jr. was born in Monmouth Junction on May 28, 1949.
He went to Monmouth Junction Elementary School, on Ridge Road, and then to South Brunswick High School, on Kingston Lane, where he
graduated in 1967.
There was a war in Vietnam. He joined the Army and started his tour on March 08, 1968.
Ponty had the rank of Specialist Four. His military specialty was Single
Rotor Turbine Observation Utility Helicopter Repairman. He was
attached to the 1st Aviation Brigade, 187th Aviation Company.
But mostly, he was a Huey door gunner, armed with an M-60 machine
gun - not a profession for young men who expect to live into old age.
On December 28, 1968, SPC Ponty’s crew flew a mission in Binh Duong Province, in South Vietnam.
It did not go well. The pilot of that Huey was shot & killed, and the aircraft fell. SPC Ponty was killed in action.
He rests at St James Cemetery in Jamesburg.
He was 19 years old.
To remember is to be human – we remember.
Our memory assures that the meaning of their sacrifice endures. Their
sacrifice is the price paid for our freedom and our way of life.
It is a dear price paid. The price paid by our war dead should be held with care and reverence.
And so, we are confronted with questions on this and every Memorial
Day. Among those questions: What did they fight and die for? How do I
best honor their memory? Can I be a better part of this Nation to honor
their sacrifice?
That’s for each of us to resolve for ourselves. We; here, today, cannot
add or subtract from them – they are beyond us. It is for us to reflect
upon them and to use their examples as guides in our daily lives and our futures; What kind of people do we want to be? Are we our best? Can we be our best?
