By Arthur Cotterell
As we approach Memorial Day we should take a moment to remember all those from Summit who fought and died for their country. Those who made the ultimate sacrifice numbered a total of 106 in the four major wars that were fought in the twentieth century.
Since Summit was founded as a township in 1869 (formed from land taken from Springfield and New Providence) those from this area who were killed in earlier wars (American Revolution, War of 1812, Mexican War, and Civil War) would be listed as residents of those communities. The very short Spanish- American War, fought in 1898, saw no deaths from the Summit area.
It was in World War I that the first Summit soldiers (15) died for their country. These included Corporal Thomas E. O' Shea who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award.
World War II (1941-1945) saw an extremely large number of Summit deaths (73) considering that this was a community of under 20,000. Many of the names listed here would be familiar to us today, since many members of their families are still Summit residents.
The Korean War, known as the Korean Conflict since there never was a, declaration of war, had six Summit men killed, in a war which came so soon after the close of World War II. Many who had served in World War II were called back to serve in Korea.
The longest conflict, fought in Vietnam in the 60's and 70"s was the last war that saw Summit men (12) die for their country. More recent conflicts in the Per- sian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq, have seen no Summit fatalities.
A beautiful section of the Village Green contains memorials to all of these men who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. As Memorial Day approaches we might visit these memorials to remember our heroes.
World War I
Brennan, Charles J.
Drabble, Philip M
Drabble, William
Drummond, John J.
Duff, Henry I
Fitzpatrick, John J.
Gow, Kenneth
Hellquist, Oscar E
Kelly, Nicholas E.
King, William R.
Mallay, John J. Jr
O' Shea, Thomas E.
Swenson, Cart A
Thomson, Alien W
Willis, Edward
World War II
Anderson, John M
Angelo, Albert
Briggs, Warren E.
Fred T. Bruno
Bystrak Henry
Caporaso. John J.
Carey, Alan P
Colangelo, Sam
Connelly, Francis W
Cook, Robert S.
Cooney, James J.
Crankshaw, Orrin F.
Crofut, William B.
Dellomo, Salvatore
Dempsey, James M.
DeNunzio, Jack A.
Dowe, Frank
Erbe, George P. F.
Ettleson, C. Campbell
Feibush, Leonard J.
Flood, James L
Foster, William P.
Gilmartin, James
Hagen, Stanley J.
Herr, Ben W
Hogan, Robert R.
Hopping, Frederick W.
Iadanza, Moses A.
Irwin, Herbert W.
Jardillo, Ernest J.
Karaszewski, Joseph P.
Kelly, Jean D.
Kenny, Thomas J.
Kice, WD.
Kipp, William
Kopp, Hans F.
Lamagna, Salvatore G.
Lane, Fred D.
Levett, Henry S.
Libertino, Frank S
Linke, Paul A.Jr
Maffei, Anthony
Malloy, Edwin J.
Mcdermott, Rodney
McMahon, David T.
Milligan, Robert, Jr.
Mooney, Lyle R., Jr.
Nelson, Kenneth L.
Olson, Richard D.
Phillippi, Carmen J.
Phillips, George H.
Piraneo, Joseph T.
Reynolds, John A.
Rosselet, John
Roth, Arthur J.
Sanzara, Anthony
Schanklin, Harry E
Schiappa, Camillo R.
Scrimente, Francis R.
Silberman, Stanley
Spadone, Amadee, Jr.
Spadone, Mitchell
Stafford, Richard M.
Stahl, Edward L
Stiles, William C.I.
Thrombley, Robert L.
Valenti, Salvatore J.
Vivian, Arthur C.
Wahl, Harold D.
Ward, Waldron W
White, Donald C.
Wilson, Wilmer W.
Young, Charles D
Korean Conflict
Bancker, Robert K.
Batson, Roland, Jr.
Lindquist, Carl E.
Lombarde, John A.
Martin, Edward R.
Varner, Edward S.
Vietnam Conflict
Andrews, Terence M.
Baxter, Dennis W.
Bird, John T.
Canning, Richard B.
Font, Manuel L.
Francisco, William V
Halsey, M. Brooke
Moore, Leon D.
Perrottet, Peter
Petracco, Robert
Ryan, Terence P.
Scuitier, James J.P