WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JULY 20, 2017 23
Queens Vietnam Vets replace family’s casket fl ag after original was stolen
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGWEOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
The Queens Vietnam Veterans
of America (VVA) Chapter 32
recently honored a Glendale
family with a new folded casket fl ag
for one of their family members who
served in World War II, after the
original fl ag was stolen more than a
decade ago.
The family of Gilbert “Gene”
Delawder came to Chapter 32 with
their upsetting story. When Delawder
died in 2002, the original folded fl ag
that was presented to the family was
stolen during the funeral service.
The Department of Veterans Aff airs
can only issue one fl ag to a veteran’s
surviving family, so the Delawders
thought they were without this precious
memory forever.
When the Delawder family came
to the VVA, the Chapter was honored
to supply the family with a new casket
fl ag.
On Friday, June 30, members of
the Queens VVA 32, with the help
of Robert Boisselle, a Life Associate
Member of the organization, presented
the Delawder family with the new
folded fl ag.
“I will always be grateful for your
heartfelt gesture of presenting this fl ag
to me in honor and in memory of my father,
Gilbert ‘Gene’ Delawder,” Kathryn
Delawder Urbano, Gene’s daughter, told
Chapter 32. “Unfortunately, the original
fl ag presented to us at his funeral is no
longer in our possession, leaving an
unfi llable void in our hearts. This fl ag,
now bearing his name, not only fi lls that
void but brings me closure and peace. It
is a symbol of his service to our country
and of the great, yet humble, man he
was. I am eternally blessed and will
cherish this moment forever.”
Delawder served in the U.S. Navy
during WW II (1941-1945) and fl ew a
Grumman F6F Hellcat.
According to his granddaughter Lisa
Pizzitola , Delawder was the descendant
of a great line of patriots to the United
States. His father Mark Delawder
served in the United States army
during WWI; his grandfather, Robert
C. Brown, was a Corporal in the 18th Indiana
Infantry Company C in the Civil
War; his great-great grandfather Lawrence
Delawder served in the army as
a private in the Ohio militia during the
War of 1812; and Jacob Halterman, his
four-times great grandfather, fought
for the United States’ independence
during the Revolutionary War.
The Queens VVA Chapter 32 was
honored to be a part of this event and
to help right a wrong that occurred
over a decade ago.
BUZZ
Photos courtesy of Robert Boisselle
The Delawder family, including Kathryn Delawder Urbano, Lisa Pizzitola, her husband Gino, and their two daughters.
Vacation Bible school hit high gear in Ridgewood
Trinity Reformed Church
in Ridgewood became a
“Fun Factory” for young
minds the week of July 10, as the
congregation held its annual Vacation
Bible school. Instructors and
team leaders used innovation and
science to teach Bible lessons to
children from preschool through
middle school. Participants are
pictured in the church last Friday,
July 14.
