Bridgewater-Raritan Marching Band to Fly the American Flag

Bridgewater resident Dave Mountney submitted an op-ed piece printed on Thursday in the Courier News:  If correct in all of its claims, it presented a very startling picture.  There must be a rational explanation, I thought.  Or there must be something amiss.

According to Mr. Mountney, the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Marching Band “does not march in parades with the U.S. flag.”  He underscored his point by stating that, “They don't march with the ‘Stars and Stripes’ in Somerville's St. Patrick's Day Parade or the Bridgewater Memorial Day Parade in Bradley Gardens,”  whereas, he continues, “The Somerville High School Marching Band has a student carrying the U.S. flag in parades as does the Immaculata High School Marching Band.”

I found these assertions disturbing and tried to get clarification by calling several sources.

First, I tried to call Mr. Mountney, but Verizon indicated that his number is unlisted.  I then called several sources in the Bridgewater-Raritan administration with knowledge or responsibility – direct or indirect – for the activities of the Bridgewater-Raritan Marching Band.  It was mid-to-late yesterday afternoon.  Two secretaries in the Wade Building were very instrumental in pointing me in the right direction.

Early this morning, Dr. Leonard Herman, Supervisor of Fine and Practical Arts returned my call.  Dr. Herman who is new in his position since July 1^st of this year has, among other duties, general responsibility for the bands.  He was not aware of this situation.

Len said that he had looked into it and was advised that over time, the American flag once used in parades by the marching band had “fallen into disrepair and was not usable.”  As a consequence, the marching band began to borrow the flag that is in the high school auditorium and to display it in their parades.

But, he explained, on the day of the parade members of the band were unable to gain access to the high school auditorium and faced the conundrum of pulling out of the parade or of marching with no American flag

That, in my view, obviously puts students who have pride in their work and country and who have practiced long and hard for their appearance before the public, between a rock and a hard place

Much to his credit, Dr. Herman stepped up to the plate and underscored without any equivocation or excuse that, “Not marching with the [American] flag is indefensible, and it will be taken care of and corrected.”

B-R High School principal, Dr. James Riccobono who is also a veteran, called me late this morning.  He emphasized that this “was not an intentional thing,” that the school district “wants to wave it (the flag) proudly . . .  it is prominent in our minds, and won’t happen again.”

 

He added that the Bridgewater-Raritan Marching Band has a drill routine that it uses at football games which ends with the unfurling of a 20 by 40 foot American flag.

Thanks for reading.  Stay engaged.

It’s all in the Faces

Priscille and I attended the parade in honor of Raritan’s hometown hero John Basilone.  I took my camera and shot many photos.  But, after I had transferred them to my PC, I noticed one characteristic which seemed common to all. 

Women of the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Color Guard

The facial expressions of the parade participants all reflected an awareness which, I thought, varied only slightly.  

Kids take in the parade as mom looks over the kids.

 Whether they were concentrating on executing their routines or, as in the case of a few, peering back at the crowd, they were all engaged.  Nobody was simply going through the motions.

A kindly face observes the onlookers.

Take a look and see if you concur.

A Cooling-Off is in Order

Imputing racism to the Borough of Raritan by means of write-ups in the local press based on the actions of a few people and of several individual comments is an unfair claim.

I’m not going to discuss the details of this issue, because I think that a point-by-point response to what I have read would be to inflame matters even more. But I will say this: The timing is inappropriate, coming mere days before this weekend’s commemorative festivities honoring the World War II service of Raritan’s own Marine hero, John Basilone.

I believe that local media writers and author(s) of letter(s)-to-the-editor who were critical of the reaction that resulted from the sale of the property of the Third Reform Church in Raritan are sincere.

Nonetheless, I don’t like the imputation of the word “racism” to the Borough of Raritan, because it is one of the most incendiary words in the English language and should be used with caution.

My own view is simple and clear: There is enough circumstantial evidence in this matter to call to account all of the participants in the sale of that property. So let’s all take a deep breath and stand down on this issue.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder once said that we are “essentially a nation of cowards,” because we either won’t or don’t know how to have a discussion on race.

Tell me: Just how is one supposed to engage in a civil dialogue if he or she is branded a racist or coward before a serious discussion even begins?

The Little Borough that Could – and Did

In a Courier News poll not long ago, a majority of respondents said that the relatives and friends of the victims of the Trade Towers attack should “move on” with their lives. I interpreted that to mean that it’s time to forget – 9/11 is over.

I’m glad that the residents of Raritan Borough didn’t take that advice about WWII and their native son and hero, John Basilone. Each year commemorative events in his honor only seem to grow. That’s as it should be, because to forget the cost of what others did to secure our freedom as Americans is a passive act of ignorance.

There is hardly a week that goes by where I don’t have a recollection for the sacrifices that my three brothers endured when they served this nation in the same war in which John Basilone fought and died.

Pride in the American military’s accomplishments is a cheap commodity these days, especially within Washington’s beltway, where politicians inside the Capitol Building and the White House treat our servicemen and servicewomen like pawns in their game of chess which they play in comfortable rooms, thousands of miles removed from the dirty battlefields of Iraq, Afghanistan and the surrounding areas of the beleaguered state of Israel.

I’m not a war hawk, and I wish to see peace reign on this planet, but I do not minimize the nature of the threats posed by dangerous men like the leaders of Iran, Syria, North Korea, and Venezuela, the last of which has entered into military provisioning agreements with Russia.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, in this little corner of the world, Raritan Borough will pause to memorialize once again the example of a man who did what he felt he had to do for his nation.