HANOVER TOWNSHIP — Hanover Township Landmark Commission invites you to join us for a “first,” on Saturday, November 9, when we will honor our earliest veterans resting in the Whippany Burying Yard. The event is an early Veterans Day. How twice appropriate. The event will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Please park in the next door Casa de Montecristo parking lot.
While the 301 year-old site on Route 10 is usually thought of as a place of “lasts,” i.e., the last resting place of many early settlers; it is also a place of many firsts: the first Burying Yard, church, school, military training ground, and known grave in North-West New Jersey.
All this has led the site to be nationally recognized as the historic crown jewel of Morris County; the centerpiece of what is becoming known as “Whippany Historic (WiHi). American Soldiers from the French & Indian, Revolutionary, and Civil Wars rest there after their service, a tradition that continued. Whippany was called “The Silent Village” in the Second World War, because all who could serve, did. Since then, our men and women have continued this tradition of service, offering to sacrifice their lives so that we all can be free.
On November 9 meet Hanover Township Veterans who served in the Second World War, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. Four of them will speak. A fifth will read the names of those heroes there, men and women, who served our nation before and at its birth; and later, when its character was being defined. A bell will toll for each.
Scouts from Hanover Township will conduct the Flag Ceremony. Members of the Township’s 8th grade will be in attendance to meet our veteran heroes. Traditions continue to be passed down.
The morning’s ceremony will conclude with a dedication of a cross to replace the one that stood in the Burying Yard. There will be a guided tour afterwards for those who wish to walk the grounds. Light refreshments will be served.
God Bless America.
