Service will honor local fallen military Friday
Atlantic County will hold its 41st annual Veterans Memorial Program to honor the sacrifice and service of its fallen military veterans Friday at the county park.
“We take great pride in providing this annual tradition each Friday before the Memorial Day holiday,” County Executive Dennis Levinson said. “Unlike Veterans Day, this is a solemn occasion to pay tribute to those who lost their lives fighting for our freedoms. We must never fail to acknowledge our enduring gratitude for their service and our sorrow for their loss.”
The public is invited to the event beginning at 2 p.m. in the Richard E. Squires Veterans Cemetery, 109 Route 50 S. in Mays Landing.
Former U.S. appellate military judge and retired Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury, Jr. will be the keynote speaker.
DeLury, who lives in Brigantine, served as a tribunal president in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he determined the combatant status of detainees. He also served as a member of the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals in Washington. D.C. He retired with the rank of captain after 25 years of active and reserve service on the military bench and the Navy.
DeLury received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia and a Juris Doctor degree with international law honors from Rutgers University in Camden.
Before he was sworn to the bench, DeLury was in-house counsel to several casinos.
He also is a past member of the Brigantine Board of Education and the Atlantic City Convention Center and Visitors Authority.
The annual program features the Atlantic County Sheriff’s color guard, the Atlantic County Corrections Officers’ honor guard, the Sandpipers’ Pipes and Drums, the presentation of the memorial wreath and the playing of Taps.
The four-acre cemetery was dedicated in 1985. It has grown over the years to include a 20-acre expansion with multiple improvements. It currently serves as a final resting place for more than 6,500 residents and has a columbarium that can currently accommodate 900 cremated remains.
Levinson renamed the cemetery in memory of his predecessor following Squires’ death in April 2024.The idea for the cemetery belonged to Squires, a U.S. Navy veteran who served on the USS Wisconsin.
In preparation for Friday’s program, several local scout troops will place American flags at each of the cemetery’s gravesites Wednesday, or Thursday if it rains. Scouts who perform this task on at least two of three occasions during the year are eligible to receive the Atlantic County Patriotism patch in recognition of their service to veterans.
