[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 15, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF HOLY CROSS POST NO. 417 CATHOLIC WAR 
                                VETERANS

                                 ______


                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 15, 1995

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the Catholic War Veterans, Holy Cross Post 417 in Trenton, NJ on the 
50th anniversary of their founding.
  Mr. Speaker, in the fall of 1945, shortly after the surrender of 
Japan, the young men of Holy Cross Parish, like young men all across 
the country including my dad who was a combat veteran in the South 
Pacific began returning from the Armed Forces. At a young age they had 
stood up to aggression and prevailed. Now they were home, and anxious 
to get on with their lives that had been interrupted by tyranny. 
Monsignor Francis Kasprowicz, pastor of Holy Cross Parish took a great 
interest and concern for the young veterans. So he granted permission 
to have a Catholic War Veterans Post formed in the Parish. This 
interest in our returning servicemen led to the founding of Catholic 
War Veterans, Holy Cross Post 417.
  Over the years, Post 417 has opened membership to all those who 
served in the Armed Forces during World War II, the Korean and Vietnam 
wars, and beyond. During those years they have been honored for having 
the largest membership of any post in New Jersey. Others have fallen by 
the roadside, but Post 417 continues to serve the veterans, not only in 
Holy Cross Parish, but in all of Mercer County, NJ.
  That service is found in the Post Catholic Action and Americanism 
programs which are year round efforts. Post 417's Palm Sunday 
Breakfast, Wafer Supper, Fifth Sunday Corporate Communions, Memorial 
Day Mass, Veterans and Pearl Harbor Day Services are annual events. A 
Christmas party and an Easter egg hunt are also held yearly for the 
children of members of the Post as well as the children of auxiliary 
members.
  The Welfare Program also plays an important role in Holy Cross Post 
417. Members give of their time to visit disabled veterans at the VA 
home in Menlo Park, NJ. Often they will play bingo and provide 
refreshments during their visits with the veterans. The Post holds an 
annual Cross of Peace collection and they send cards to sick veterans.
  The Post organized a Ladies Auxiliary in 1949. They have grown to 
become not only the largest auxiliary in the State, but also the 
largest auxiliary in the Nation. The members of Post 417 are well aware 
that their programs would not be possible without the assistance of 
their impressive auxiliary.
  Mr. Speaker, many influential voices on the American scene today are 
of the opinion that the United States' greatest ailment is not a lack 
of wealth, or opportunity. Rather, they see a breakdown in the communal 
bonds that give people a sense of belonging in an otherwise uncertain 
and often hostile world. Few would argue with these voices that a sense 
of community is essential to a cohesive society. Obviously the family 
must provide the primary bulwark--grounding the individual with a sense 
that they are not alone in the world. But it is difficult for the 
family alone to enrich life with the kind of meaning and fraternity we 
all crave. Certainly careers and Government services can not fill the 
void either. It is precisely organizations such as Catholic War 
Veteran, Holy Cross Post 417 which best link us all with the larger 
community that exists beyond our homes and individual lives.
  Post 417, by their long record of involvement in our community is a 
model of exactly the type of organization which brings us all together 
in a stable and free society. The service and fellowship they provide 
to each other, as well as numerous other veterans of our Nation's armed 
conflicts, certainly yield countless benefits to us all as members of 
the human family and residents of central New Jersey. We are all truly 
blessed for their 50 years of service to, as their motto proclaims, 
God, Country, and Home.
  Catholic War Veterans, Holy Cross Post 417, I salute you and all your 
members both living and deceased on your first half-century of service 
and wish you the best of success for the many, many years your future 
surely holds.

                          ____________________