Jersey Shore Magazine

BEACHCOMBER ANSWERING THE CALL, continued from page 11 on Chambers Bridge Road, he noticed a memorial to the town's fallen heroes, but just like his encounter in Clark, nobody knew much about the names etched on the monument. "Now I had the internet," Duffy recalled, "and access to ancestry.com, newspapers.com, digital archives, and more." He spent countless hours searching online and utilizing Ocean County Library archives and resourc- es. His hard work resulted in obtain- ing information about the fallen heroes from Brick, and in turn, shar- ing their stories with the community by speaking about them and creating a booklet which can be viewed by vis- iting bit.ly/bricknjfallenheroes. Because Brick Township was almost fully developed, Duffy proposed hon- oring the fallen heroes with banners at Windward Park instead of naming streets after them. With help from Councilwoman Lisa Crate, Mayor John Ducey, and a committee of members from Brick's chapters of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, and the town council, the banners were hung and dedicated in April 2019. Two of them would be killed in action on the same day at the same battle in World War II, 13,000 miles away from home. One would be killed in action on his birthday coming to the aid of a wounded soldier in World War II. One would write a last letter home to his son and would be killed in action a month later in World War II. One would be shot down on a bombing mission and would be executed by his captors in Vietnam. One would be killed by friendly fire as he drove in a truck in Vietnam. One would take his own life in Vietnam after receiving a "Dear John" letter from his wife. One would be killed in action in Vietnam and his mother would never accept that fact for the rest of her life. One would be killed in action in Iraq after returning from leave where he witnessed the birth of his son. One brother was killed in action during World War II. Another brother would be executed later in the war by his captors as a Prisoner of War. One would be killed in action after coming back from special duty as part of the honor guard for a deceased president. These are just some of the eighty fallen heroes that Duffy has researched over the last forty years. Duffy and the committee also raised $16,000 to rehabilitate and update the Brick War Memorial, which was originally dedicated in 1956. His efforts resulted in new bronze plaques, which included the name of every one of Brick's fallen heroes from the Civil War through Operation Iraqi Freedom placed over the original cement etchings. The new memorial was officially dedicat- ed in May 2020. Last November, the Brick VFW received a call from Chris Wilson, vice principal of Point Pleasant Beach High School, who inquired about a Veterans Day presentation for the students. Duffy, who currently serves the Brick VFW as Officer of the Day, jumped at the chance. "I talked about my own experience and the fallen heroes from Brick," he said, "and after I was finished, he (Wilson) took me in the hall and showed me a wall dedicated in 1945 with the names of students who graduated from the high school who went to war and never came home." A new flame sparked inside Duffy, and by the spring of 2022, he had finished researching fallen heroes from Bay Head, Lavallette, Mantoloking, Point Pleasant Beach, and Point Pleasant Boro. "I returned to Point Pleasant Beach High School for a presentation about their heroes via a PowerPoint display created by students and teachers for Memorial Day 2022." He has also presented to Point Pleasant Boro High School students and to the Point Pleasant Historical Society. The Brick War Memorial includes the name of every one of Brick's fallen heroes from the Civil War through Operation Iraqi Freedom. Jill Ocone They Didn't Come Home by William Duffy

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