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BY HILLARY VIDERS
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
TENAFLY, N.J.—On Sunday, Nov. 11, Tenafly dedicated a newly refurbished park on Tenafly Road in the memory of Sgt. Nicholas Oresko, a longtime Tenafly resident and Medal of Honor recipient who died in 2013.
Oresko served his country proudly as a U.S. Army soldier and platoon leader during World War II. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military honor, by President Harry S. Truman for his courage and bravery in single-handedly attacking a German bunker on Jan. 23, 1945.
The oval-shaped park, renamed as Oresko Memorial Green, is located on Tenafly Road between Riveredge Road and West Clinton Avenue. It has been upgraded with newly paved walking paths and benches and a beautiful monument inscribed with a dedication to Oresko.
Oresko Memorial Green is an effort of Tenafly Mayor Peter S. Rustin, the Borough Council, and the Tenafly Historic Preservation Commission.
Dedicating this park to Oresko is a well-deserved honor.
“Only 472 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for their service in World War II,” said Rustin.
‘Humble, honorable and a hero!’
Although his military service was one of outstanding honor and heroism, Oresko’s friends and family remember him as a humble and gracious man.
Oresko was born on Jan. 18, 1917. He joined the U.S. Army in March 1942, and was sent to Europe with the 94th Infantry, arriving in France in September 1944, three months after the Normandy landings.
A platoon sergeant in Company C, 1st Battalion, 302nd Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division, Oresko spent the next several months with his unit eliminating remaining German units who had been bypassed in the Allies’ initial push through the northern part of France. In December 1944, the 94th Division was re-deployed to replace the 90th Infantry Division as part of General Patton’s Third Army.
On Jan. 23, 1945, near Tettingen, Germany, Oresko singlehandedly and under enemy fire, took out a German bunker position that was armed with a machine gun. Although gravely injured, Oresko crawled and attacked the bunker while under fire and destroyed that enemy position. His actions were credited with preventing numerous American casualties and were praised as key to the Allies’ victory.
Nine months later, during a White House ceremony, President Harry S. Truman awarded Oresko the Medal of Honor, the highest decoration that a member of the U.S. military can receive.
In later years, Oresko served as the director of the Veterans’ Affairs office in Newark for more than 30 years, and was well-known locally, serving as grand marshal of Tenafly’s Memorial Day parade more than once. Bayonne School #14 was renamed in honor of Oresko in July 2010.
At the time of his death on Oct. 4, 2013, Oresko was the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient at age 96 years. His likeness was featured on the United States Postal Service commemorative stamp folio for the Medal of Honor stamps issued November 2013.
The dedication of Oresko Memorial Green on Nov. 11 was timely, as it coincided with Veterans Day. The ceremony began at 1 p.m. with a presentation by the Boy Scouts Troop 25 color guard, followed by the singing of the National Anthem by Tenafly Middle School student Olivia Catona. This dedication ceremony was especially meaningful to Catona because her grandfather, a Navy veteran, always stressed love of country.
An invocation was then made by Rev. Lynne Weber, pastor of the Church of the
Atonement in Tenafly, after which Mayor Rustin welcomed the dozens of attendees who had come to pay their respects.
The Medal of Honor Citation was presented by Councilman Anthony Barzelatto, after which Maj. Christopher Carbone, United States Army Reserve, delivered the keynote speech. Carbone, a close friend of Oresko’s, is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and deployments in Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa.
Carbone shared several personal remembrances of Oresko.
“Humble, honorable and a hero!” Carbone exclaimed.
In one anecdote, Carbone recounted how he had brought Oresko to the Officers Club at West Point on his birthday where they were having a surprise party.
“When Nick came in with that big grin on his face, every officer in that room, including the highest ranking ones, was in awe. As we left the room later that night, all the officers lined up and sang ‘Happy Birthday.’ The look on Nick’s face was absolute delight. He stopped to shake every hand and to speak with every officer,” Carbone recalled.
After Carbone’s speech, Karlito Almeda, representing U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, read a special award honoring Oresko.
As the program concluded, the monument was unveiled by Rustin, Councilman Barzelatto and Historic Preservation Commission Chairwoman Karen Neus.
The ceremony closed with a prayer by Rev. Dan O’Neill, O. Carm, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. He cited the freedom of American’s right to pray and thanked Oresko for being a person who fought to uphold this freedom.
Expressing the sentiment of all those who had assembled at Oresko Memorial Green on Nov. 11, O’Neill said, “One hundred years from now, we will still remember his name!”
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