By MADDY VITALE
A police escort with a caravan of military members running, on motorcycles and in vehicles made their way through Sea Isle City, stopping at five “Hero Markers” on Thursday to honor those who gave their lives for freedom during the Run for the Fallen.
Runners began their journey in Cape May and will make their way to Holmdel, Monmouth County, during the four-day trek in remembrance of fallen military men and women.
Among the stops, the caravan paused at 46th Street and Landis Avenue to honor Cpl. Michael Crescenz, a Sea Isle summer resident who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the Vietnam War.
He was killed in combat in 1968. A miniature statue of Crescenz is on display in the lobby of Sea Isle’s City Hall. Sea Isle played a major role in raising money for a lifelike bronze statue of Crescenz at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia, Crescenz’s hometown.
Bill and Mona Crean joined their friends Jeff and Anne Marie Jay, all from Pennsylvania, with summer homes in Sea Isle, to honor Crescenz.
Crescenz holds a special place in their hearts.
He went to high school with Bill Crean, 70, and Jeff Jay, 70, at the since-closed Cardinal Dougherty High School in Philadelphia.
Crean is an Army veteran and Jay served in the Navy.
The friends did not know Crescenz, but every year they go to his Hero Marker during the Run for the Fallen to pay him respect.
“We graduated a year ahead of him,” Crean said. “He represents all of us and every kid who puts on a uniform.”
Crean’s eyes welled up with emotion. “If you don’t choke up, you don’t have a heart,” he said.
Jay explained that Crescenz’s mother wanted him buried in their hometown. But, upon her death, she wanted her son to be reinterred at Arlington Cemetery.
He was reinterred with full honors and the Jays and Creans went to witness the re-burial of the hero.
Upon the arrival of the caravan, the couples spoke to the members of the Run for the Fallen and thanked them for their service and for recognizing those who have died while serving.
One stop at the Promenade and JFK Boulevard held two “Hero Markers to honor two best friends who joined the military together after high school and were both killed in the line of duty.
Army Specialists Anthony J. Dixon, 20, of Lindenwold, died in Iraq in August of 2004, and Adam D. Froehlich, 21, of Pine Hill, died in March 2004.
Alexander and Jacquelyn Dixon, of Lindenwold, N.J., hugged and spoke with people they have met and befriended along the way, after the loss of their son.
Dixon served just two years in the military before he was killed.
“This helps with the healing process for us,” Jacqueline Dixon said of the ceremony.
“We’ve met so many good people along the way,” said Alexander Dixon, a military veteran.
During the ceremony, Sea Isle Police Lt. James McQuillen viewed a wooden display of 138 members of the military who died while serving.
“It is a reminder of the price of freedom,” said McQuillen, a Marine veteran.
The other stops at Hero Markers in Sea Isle were as follows:
• 89th and Landis: P01 David M. Tapper
• 64th and Landis: 2nd Lt. Richard Torres
• 22nd and Landis: A1C Jarred Crowley
The military caravan and runners were heading to Ocean City next, where they would be making 12 stops.
For more information about the event and bios of each of the servicemen and women honored, visit www.njrunforthefallen.org.
