Post 86 celebrates Legion's centennial
Andover Township. In September of 2018, Post 86 was asked to provide honors for a 9/11 memorial service in Sparta, and the idea for a full-fledged Honor Guard was born.
The American Legion, founded in 1919, is one of the largest veterans’ service organizations in the world. While the Legion was celebrating the centennial of its creation, a one-year anniversary quietly passed at American Legion Lt. Charles A. Meyer Post 86- the revival of its Honor Guard. Led by the post’s Sergeant-at-Arms Keith Ackerman, the group is dedicated to upholding the last line of the Legion’s mission statement, “...continued devotion to our fellow service members and veterans.”
It’s a mission the eight-man contingent does not take lightly, and Ackerman runs the outfit with the military precision he learned while serving with the famed 82nd Airborne.
“We may joke and rag on each other, but when it’s time for ceremony, we’re all business," said Ackerman.
He joined the American Legion nearly two years ago, after a mountain-biking accident.
“I decided I needed to stop running around so much and start enjoying life more," he said.
In September of 2018, Post 86 was asked to provide honors for a 9/11 memorial service in Sparta, and the idea for a full-fledged Honor Guard was born.
Ackerman’s "work in progress" includes an inch-thick manual on uniform, procedures, and personalized ceremonies, pamphlets, and programs; all of which he based on American Legion protocol and ceremonial elements from military code, primarily the Army and Air Force.
“We are there to provide and supplement military honors at funerals, memorials, and services,” he said. “Our secondary mission is civic events like parades and ceremonies, which give us a lot of positive public exposure and promote patriotism.”
On a recent fall morning, the outfit performed honors at a memorial service at the Northern New Jersey Veterans Memorial Cemetery. The group performed a full ceremony, including a three-volley salute and the tolling of their memorial bell. Ackerman offered the family a trio of ribbon-wrapped shell casings, signifying duty, honor, and country. With the playing of Taps and the mournful wail of a lone bagpiper, the service concluded.
The occasion was the first anniversary of the passing of Diane Curto’s father, Army veteran James Gallichio. Curto is the cemetery’s administrator, and she personally invited the Honor Guard to attend.
“These guys are wonderful,” Curto said, “They have meant so much to us here at the cemetery. I love having them available for our funerals, they provide such a valuable service.”
Cemetery founder and Wallkill Valley Chapter 1002 of the Vietnam Veterans of America President John Harrigan also speaks highly of the Post 86 Honor Guard.
“We’re losing so many of our older veterans these days,” Harrigan said
While the Honor Guard also performs ceremonial duties at one of Sussex County’s oldest cemeteries, the Old Newton Burial Ground. Sussex County Historical Society Trustee Wendy Wyman, who chairs events at the centuries-old graveyard, says she is impressed.
“They’re a class act and Keith is so detail-oriented and organized, "Wyman said. "He goes beyond with arranging the buglers and the bagpipers, and I’m looking forward to them adding the bell salute at our Wreaths Across America this year.”
Wyman noted the addition of the bell, a recent donation in honor of one the post’s past commanders, Joseph P. Quinn, Jr. Along with the presentation of the shell-casings, Ackerman thinks the bell makes their ceremony stand out.
“We’re on track to do over 100 funerals in 2020,” he said. “Not to mention civic events. With eight guys, who thought we’d be doing a few funerals a year, we’re spreading ourselves thin. We did 11 events in September alone.”
The criteria for membership in the American Legion were recently expanded by federal law to include all active duty or honorably discharged service members who were enlisted beginning in 1941, which Ackerman and the rest of Post 86 expect will bring them new members, and new Honor Guard participants.
“We’re even offering uniform reimbursement to anyone interested in joining the guard,” Ackerman said, “50 percent after six months and the other 50 percent after a year of service.”
Ackerman said goodwill donations are gratefully accepted.
The American Legion Lt. Charles A. Meyer Post 86 is located at 20 Yates Ave, Newton (Andover Township). For membership contact Post Adjutant Bob Glesias at 973-222-8184. To book the Honor Guard for a ceremonial event, contact Keith Ackerman at 973-865-5035.