Shown with two American battle flags that were presented to Maplewood Township on Veterans Day by the Donna D’Amato, far right, representing Maplewood Committee for Servicemen and Servicewomen, are, from left, Committeeman Ian Grodman, Deputy Mayor Nancy Adams and Mayor Vic DeLuca.
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Maplewood Committee for Servicemen and Servicewomen, in a presentation at the annual Veterans Day observance at Maplewood Town Hall, gave the township two American flags that once flew in Middle Eastern battle areas.
“The committee proudly presents these two flags, which were give to us by two Maplewoodians who were on active duty in 2010 in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Donna D’Amato, the Service Committee’s treasurer, said in a press release.
One of the flags was sent to to the Service Committee by a U.S. Air Force Black Hawk helicopter pilot, Kiera Connerty, whose aircraft flew the flag in action in Iraq. Connerty is a Columbia High School and West Point graduate.
The other flag was given to the Service Committee by Lichroy Marquis, a U.S. airman. This flag had flown at Baghdad International Airport in Afghanistan and is encased in a box that Marquis designed and made of natural wood from Iraq.
According to the release, township officials indicated that the Connerty flag would fly from one of the several public facilities in the township and that Marquis’ boxed flag would be placed in the memorial cabinet that honors military servicemen and servicewomen in the Town Hall lobby.
The Maplewood Committee for Servicemen and Servicewomen was organized in 1942 and has continued to function since then except for a suspension of activity between the Korean and Vietnam wars. Over the years, the Service Committee has sent packages, local publications, birthday and holiday cards, and phone and gift cards to Maplewood’s men and women in the armed forces.