Jones Brothers

Korean War veteran U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Clarence L. Jones, left, was presented the New Jersey Meritorious Service Medal. His brother, World War II veteran U.S. Army Staff Sgt. William E. Jones Jr., center, was posthumously awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal and the New Jersey POW-MIA Medal. William E. Jones Jr. was listed as missing in action in Belgium, January 1945 and was later confirmed as killed in action. His other brother, World War II veteran U.S. Army Pfc. Robert Jones, who served in the European Theater of Operations, was posthumously awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal, which was presented to his son, Robert Jones Jr. (Courtesy photos)
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CPT Allen N. Johnson

Bernardsville resident and Vietnam Veteran U.S. Army Capt. Allen N. Johnson, doctor of veterinary medicine, was awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal and the New Jersey Vietnam Service Medal for his service in Vietnam. Johnson served with the 4th Medical Detachment, United States Army Pacific, Republic of Vietnam, from April 1970 to April 1971, and was honorably discharged in April 1971. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal with two overseas bars, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. (Photo courtesy Allen N. Johnson)
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SP5 Mark C. Vukovich

Sparta resident and Vietnam Veteran U.S. Army Spc. 5 Mark C. Vukovich was awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal and the New Jersey Vietnam Service Medal for his service in Vietnam. Vukovich entered service in May 1966 and was honorably discharged in February 1969. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze service stars, Vietnam Campaign Medal with ’60 device, Army Commendation Medal, Marksmanship Badge, and the Sharpshooter Badge. (Photos courtesy Mark Vukovich)
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AO3 Jan Swist

U.S. Navy Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Jan Swist was awarded the New Jersey Meritorious Service Medal for service during the Vietnam War. Swist served on the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67 - formerly CVA-67) from 1970 through 1976 and was honorably discharged April 22, 1976. (Photos courtesy Swist family)
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MAJ Gerard P. Sullivan 

Paramus resident U.S. Army Maj. Gerard P. Sullivan was presented the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal – New Jersey’s highest military award – and the New Jersey Global War on Terrorism Medal for his service in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Sullivan served in Iraq in 2011, Afghanistan in 2014, and Kuwait in 2017. (Photos courtesy of Maj. Gerard P. Sullivan)
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Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Sidney Finkle

New Jersey resident and World War II veteran Navy Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class and New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal (NJDSM) recipient Sidney Finkle poses for a photo during a ceremony in Pennington, N.J. The NJDSM is New Jersey’s highest military award. Finkle enlisted in October 1942 and served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. He was honorably discharged in November 1945.
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SP4 Patrick J. Fernicola Jr.

Belleville resident U.S. Army Vietnam Era veteran Spc. 4 Patrick J. Fernicola Jr., was awarded the New Jersey Meritorious Service Medal. He joined the Army in March 1962 and after attending Basic Training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, he was assigned as a medical specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry, at Fort Lewis, Wash. After completing his service obligation, he was honorably discharged March, 1964, and was assigned to the U.S. Army Reserve II U.S. Army Corps where he served until March, 1968. (Photos courtesy Patrick J. Fernicola Jr.)

Seaman Second Class George W. Metzler

Little Falls resident George W. Metzler’s military awards. Metzler enlisted in the Navy Dec. 8, 1941. He was 17 years old. After completing basic training, he was sent to the U.S. Navy Armed Guard in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he was trained as a gunner. He was subsequently assigned to the merchant oil tanker SS William F. Humphrey as part of a gun crew. Navy Armed Guard crews were assigned to U.S. and allied merchant ships to defend against attacks by enemy aircraft, ships, and submarines. On July 16, 1942, the Humphrey responded to a distress call 800 miles off the West African coast. The distress call was decoy by a German auxiliary cruiser, which attacked and sunk the Humphrey. Twenty-six crew members and three Navy Armed Guards, including Metzler, were captured as prisoners of war. Metzler had received severe wounds during the attack and died that evening. The following day he was buried at sea. Metzler was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the World War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the New Jersey POW-MIA Service Medal. (Photo by Tim O'Brien)
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CSM Gordon C. Lampitt

Gordon C. Lampitt was a retired Command Sergeant Major with 28 years in the U.S. Army. He was a decorated Army veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, having served three tours in WWII, three tours in Korea and two tours in Vietnam. After retirement he worked for 15 years in property management at Fort Dix. (Picture Gov. Murphy Twitter) 
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Technician 5th Grade Josef Bienstock

World War II Veteran U.S. Army Technician 5th Grade Josef Bienstock was awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service on his 100th birthday. He was also presented a letter co-signed by Maj. Gen. Jemal J. Beale, The Adjutant General of New Jersey, and retired Col. Walter R. Nall, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Veterans Affairs. In addition, a First Responders Parade was held in front of the facility where he lives in his honor. The middle picture is of Bienstock from 1944. (Pictures courtesy Elsa Williams) 
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SGT Ellsworth Moore Jr.

Lakewood resident Vietnam Veteran and Purple Heart recipient U.S. Army Sgt. Ellsworth Moore Jr., was awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster and the New Jersey Vietnam Service Medal. Moore served in Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Moore was honorably discharged on Nov. 28, 1969. (Photos courtesy Ellsworth Moore Jr.)
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PO2 Nicholas A. Campagna, Jr. 

Vietnam War Veteran U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Nicholas A. Campagna, Jr., of Nutley was awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal and the New Jersey Vietnam Service Medal. Campagna enlisted in December 1959 and served on the USS Seminole (AKA-104) a Tolland-class attack cargo ship. He was Honorably Discharged December 1963. (Photos courtesy of Nicholas A. Campagna, Jr.)

CWO Joseph W. Woodward

World War II veteran U.S. Navy Chief Warrant Officer Joseph W. Woodward was posthumously awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal. His son, Paul Woodward, accepted the award.

Woodward enlisted July 26, 1940. He trained at the United States Naval Training Station’s Great Lakes and San Diego where he completed radioman school.

Woodward served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations on the destroyer USS Wainwright, the replenishment oiler USS Nantahala, and the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was commissioned as a chief warrant officer. Woodward was honorably discharged Dec. 3, 1946.
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CDR Andrew P. Sosnicky

Andrew P. Sosnicky was awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal and the New Jersey Vietnam Service Medal. Sosnicky received his commission from the United States Naval Academy in 1966. He served two tours in the Gulf of Tonkin. His first was onboard the destroyer USS Lowry (DD-770) and on shore at Phan Thiet, South Vietnam, where he coordinated fire support missions with Army and Marine ground units. His second tour was onboard USS Wichita (AOR-1), a replenishment ship which supplied combat ships operating off the Vietnam coast. Sosnicky retired as a commander. (Photos courtesy Andrew P. Sosnicky).
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PFC Melvin E. Sherrod

U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Melvin E. Sherrod was awarded the New Jersey Meritorious Service Medal for honorable service in the USMC as a field radio operator. (Photos courtesy of Melvin E. Sherrod)
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PO3 Margaretta Busch Woodward

World War II veteran U.S. Navy Storekeeper 3rd Class (Petty Officer 3rd Class) Margaretta Busch Woodward of Harrison was awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal.

Woodward enlisted in the Naval Reserve WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) Jan. 6, 1944, when she was 20 years old.

Woodward was Honorably Discharged Aug. 1, 1945, from U.S. Naval Barracks (Women’s Reserve), New York, N.Y. She is the daughter of Harrison resident World War I veteran U.S. Army Cpl. Joseph W. Busch.
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SP4 Christopher R. McAlinden

Jersey City resident U.S. Army Specialist 4 Christopher R. McAlinden displays his New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal and New Jersey Vietnam Service Medal. The picture on the right was taken in Phan Rang, Republic of Vietnam, in March 1967. (Photos courtesy of Christopher R. McAlinden)
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PO2 Antoinette M. Granger-Knight

PO3 Daryl J. Knight

Plainsboro residents U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Antoinette M. Granger-Knight and Petty Officer 3rd Class Daryl J. Knight were both awarded the New Jersey Meritorious Service Medal. Granger-Knight served from January 1981 to July 1986, while Knight served from July 1982 to June 1988. They served together as cryptologic technicians at the Naval Security Group Activity Northwest, Chesapeake, Va. They recently celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary. (Photos courtesy Antoinette M. Granger-Knight)
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CPL Joseph W. Busch

U.S. Army Corporal Joseph W. Busch, standing left in group photo, of Harrison, NJ, was posthumously awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal. Receiving the medal on his behalf was his grandson Paul W. Woodward.

Busch was born Aug. 28, 1893, and was 24 years old when he reported to Camp Dix, N.J., Feb. 23, 1918. After completing training, he was assigned to Company A, 310th Infantry, 78th “Lightning” Division, American Expeditionary Forces. Busch served in France from May 1918 to May 1919. Busch fought in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, Sept. 12–16, 1918. The battle was first major offensive by the American Expeditionary Forces. The 78th was the considered the "point of the wedge" of the final offensive which knocked out Germany. The battles of the 78th Division were likened by the French to a bolt of lightning, leaving the field blood red. Thus the insignia became a single streak of lightning across a red field. Busch was Honorably Discharged at Camp Dix June 6, 1919.

After the war, he joined the Harrison Police Department and served for 20 years retiring as a detective June 2, 1944. He died Dec. 2, 1945. (Photos courtesy of the Woodward family)
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PFC Robert A. Carlo

Purple Heart recipient U.S. Army Pfc. Robert A. Carlo, an infantryman and sharpshooter with the 90th Infantry Division, was presented the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal at Wayne, N.J. Carlo was among the 23,250 Americans that landed on Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion June 6, 1944.
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PVT Aaron Mattison

The New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal was presented to Will Tisch, the fourth great grandson of Private Aaron Mattison, 1st New Jersey Regiment, during a ceremony honoring Mattison at Maclean House, Princeton, N.J. Mattison served as a quartermaster during the Revolutionary War.
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