Commandant Jim Koons

Senior Vice Commandant Cleveland Atwater

Junior Vice Commandant Steve Ferman

Judge Advocate Mike Dougherty

Adjutant Jan Smiell

Paymaster Jonathan Winaker

Chaplain Art Bowie

Sergeant at Arms Stanley Zon

(Hover over the photos below to associate the name with the face.)

Secondary Staff and Committees

Quartermaster Steve Ferman

Webmaster / Newsletter Editor: Jan Smiell

Rose Committee: Stan Zon & Steve Ferman

Scouting: Mario “Gunny” Monaco

Scholarship Committee: Jan Smiell, Paul Brown, & Margaret Brown

At the Slattery Detachment, we know that Tom Miller is a Past Commandant and Marine of the Year, the culinary coordinator, table decorator, and graphic artist.  Outside of our world, most know that he is the local VFW Commander, Grand Marshall of the 2026 Hanover Memorial Day Parade, Tony Fiorentino’s social calendar keeper, and Rose’s husband. Many of us have been presented with prints of sketches or watercolor works that Tom produced: Butterflies to Boots on Ground.  Not sure that everyone is aware of his “The Flags of Our Conflicts” series that includes battels from the Revolutionary War to current day, or his “9/11” series among his vast collection of paintings (watercolor and acrylic) and mixed media. Each conflict is represented with one ceramic flag and one 16 by 20-inch watercolor.

Recently, Tom went on adventure. Rather than send his painting depicting the USS Constitution fighting against the HMS Java in 1812, he thought a quick trip to Boston to hand-deliver it.  With a 3-inch fresh snowfall on the ground, he and Rose set off.  Unfortunately, the snow had not stopped in the northern areas, so they dealt with road salters, windshield wipers, bumper to bumper 40 mph stop and go travel.  Sounds like the usual drive to Boston in November to me… They enjoyed a night outside of Boston before finally making it to the ship and museum where they were scheduled to meet a naval official.  He was introduced to everyone, pictures were taken, everyone had a chance to chat and time flew by and before they could get a museum tour, it was time to leave for that trip back to New Jersey. On the way back, one wrong turn took them on a scenic route through the New York mountains in the dark and back home at 9 PM (probably after bedtime).

With the upcoming 25th anniversary of 9/11, we should look for a government unit that would like to acquire Tom’s 9/11 series that includes about 50 paintings.

Click on each of the photos to see the captions.

In 2022, a local paper, The East Hanover/Florham Park Life, features an article on Tom and his Veteran’s Memorial Park in Wisconsin with photos by Tom.

Aerial view of the Highground Veterans Memorial Park by Tom Miller in Wisconsin

The Highground Veterans Memorial Park: It Started with a Dream 

by Steve Sears 11/12/22

When you look at an overhead photo of the Highground Veterans Memorial Park, the first thing that catches your eye is the American flag flying high over the property.

“Yes, it is,” says Tom Miller, whose dream of having a site for veterans to be remembered in his home state has been realized. “That (the flag) was the first thing we put at the Highground.”

For the current East Hanover resident, it all started on a Vietnam battlefield, when Miller held in his arms the body of his good friend and partner, Jack Swender, who had been killed by gunfire. “Jack, he had a baby face, and he was a really nice man who would do anything for anybody. He was really my partner on the radio; I’d either carry the radio or he’d carry the radio. Just a great kid.” Miller pauses briefly, then continues. “I started thinking about it on my trip out to Washington D.C. in 1982 for the dedication of the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial,” says Miller, who lived in Wisconsin at the time. “We went all the way down to Washington from Wisconsin, and I said, ‘People shouldn’t have to travel that far. Let’s do something to remember Jack close by, so that’s when we started.”

Jack Swender

A Board of Directors was selected in 1984, the Highground Veterans Memorial Park was incorporated in 1985, and a location of 500,000 acres was found in Neillsville.

Chris Pettis has been the Highground Veterans Memorial Park Executive Director for a little more than two years. He and his staff welcome roughly 55,000 to 60,000 visitors a year to the site. “Our mission is to honor, educate, and heal,” says Pettis, “and the opportunity for anyone to be able to come to the park and reflect back on their service. It’s a place of healing and remembrance. Families come here and have the ability to honor their loved one and in a little bit different way, and of course we’re here to provide education to anybody. A lot of times, you drive through smaller towns and you see these small veteran memorials honoring veterans that are no longer with us. We do that too, but we also take care of those that are still with us.”

The Highground offers veteran retreats, male and female, at two different times of the year, has started a guitar lesson program where they buy guitars for veterans and pay for an instructor to come in and help vets learn how to play the instrument (“Hopefully they can be able to heal from the music,” Pettis says), and the Highground also has a family peer-to-peer support group that is in its fifth month and just keeps growing. For further pondering, there are also four miles of walking trails through the woods.

Pettis provides an update on the site for 2023. “If all goes well, we’re going to be breaking ground on our new Welcome Center. Right now, we’re an outdoor park. We have a museum that is a residence that we’ve converted that we have severely outgrown due to the wonderful donations of family, and artifacts and military memorabilia. And then, if we’re having inclement weather and we’re having an event, there’s no place for anybody to go. This 12,000 square foot Welcome Center is going to have our gift shop in it, our museum, indoor meeting space for roughly 150 people, a small chapel, and – something that’s very important to me – a counseling room. If I have a veteran that’s here that’s in crisis, I’ve got a place to take that individual and have a conversation with them while I’m waiting on a mental health professional. And at the end of the day, I’d like to have a clinician on staff, or I’d like to be able to offer that room up to any traveling clinician that would be interested in utilizing that facility as a means of therapy for any of their patients.”

Miller is proudly amazed at how his dream has grown. “I didn’t realize how big it became until the other day, when I was looking down at all my notes and pictures and everything else, trying to get something for a book that they’re publishing,” says Miller. “The staff, Board of Directors, and the volunteers made it happen. They all came together. They’re all dedicated, especially the staff and the volunteers. They’re a phenomenal bunch. It’s at the center of the state which was one of the important parts. It’s really just top notch.”

The Highground Veterans Memorial Park is located at W7031 W Ridge Road in Neillsville, Wisconsin. Visit www.thehighground.us for more information.

Now Tom is working on a new project –A Healing Garden. The Veterans Valor Healing Garden is a dedicated space at the Frelinghuysen Aboretum in Morris Township, New Jersey, designed to honor veterans and support their families. The garden will serve as a sanctuary for peace, reflection, and spiritual renewal, offering a place for veterans to cope with the challenges they face after service. It is part of the Disarm PTSD campaign, which aims to transform service-related trauma into a source of purpose and connection.  The garden includes 7 themed areas, each reflecting different stages of trauma, recovery, remembrance, and renewal. The Healing Garden is a collaborative initiative involving the Morris County Park Commission, Rotary District 7475, and local veterans and health groups, aiming to create significant benefits for veterans and the community at large. Tom has been providing input based on his personal and artistic experiences and has raised a significant amount to add to the funds needed to create the vision.  The December Scuttlebutt featured an article on the groundbreaking in November 2025.  Tom placed sacred ground from Vietnam at the site.

The Scuttlebutt will provide updates once construction is underway.

NJ Service Medal Ceremony

On December 20th, a group of our Slattery detachment members brought more than our usual breakfast to the veterans living at the Community Living Center at the Lyons VA as we met our goal of 4 visits in the year. Special thanks to Mike Dougherty for arranging these adventures.

Mara brought colorful tablecloths and centerpieces as decorations for the cafeteria to add a festive feel. Thanks to Cleveland Atwater for gathering the groceries and to Pete Quinn, who acquired a new, more efficient coffee system that allowed us to serve a record amount of hot coffee in a short timeframe.  In addition to the usual fruit and bagels, Mara orchestrated getting home baked cookies donated by Denise Pearl. They were a welcome delight! We also came bearing donated gifts of handmade pillows from an anonymous donor and lap blankets crocheted by Elizabeth Pickard.  The holiday spirit enlivened interactions and the gratitude of the residents was endlessly expressed as we escorted them back to their living areas. Some said that this was a nice surprise as no other groups presented with a holiday get-together in December.

It was a great way to ramp up the cheer of the season for the resident veterans and our Slattery detachment members who participated.

MCL Members who celebrated the season at the VA Community Center: John Andrews, Art Bowie, John Breheney, Keith Butler, Don Campbell, Tony Fiorentino, Jim Koons, Tom Miller, Mara Modes, Pete Quinn, Jan Smiell,

Updates from the State (Department to Detachments):

 A Message from NJ Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA)

Dear Veteran Leaders and Advocates,

Today, we embark upon a once in a generation opportunity to elevate state-delivered veterans benefits, programs, and services. The New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs will sustain the progress of recent years while expanding state government support to our fellow citizens who selflessly served in the United States Armed Forces. I am grateful to Governor Murphy and Governor-elect Sherrill for placing their confidence in me to lead this important transformation.

We live in a country whose greatness has been earned and protected by Veterans who embraced service as well as sacrifice. I have seen this with my own eyes through my nearly two decades in the military. You know that deep in your bones. That is why you continue to serve in positions of leadership, advocating for and working each day on behalf of our brothers and sisters, their families, caregivers, and survivors.

 Good leaders are measured by their actions. They foster common purpose, shared understanding, and cultures of respect, innovation, and helpfulness. That is the spirit that I hope will animate our new Department of Veterans Affairs. Here is how I believe that we get there:

• We will deliver efficient, timely, and responsive state benefits, programs, and services.

• We will be accountable to ourselves and to the Veterans and families whom we serve.
• We will ensure the safety and the highest possible standards of care for the Veterans, Veteran Spouses, and Gold Star Families who call our facilities home.
• We will reach and maintain functional zero to ensure that veteran homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring.
• We will partner with anyone and everyone to enhance efforts to reduce suicide and foster mental health resilience.
• We will demonstrate this commitment to mission and accountability through our everyday actions.

Those that I serve beside on the DVA team are called to not only meet standards but exceed them. To seek innovative solutions to current and unforeseen challenges. To sustain what we are doing well while seeking constant improvement. We need your help to get it right.

In many ways, today is the result of advocacy from leaders like you and the organizations that you represent. I ask for your support, your input, and your candid feedback as we endeavor to establish an organization worthy of those whom we serve. As always, my door is always open.

Sincerely,

Vincent Solomeno

Commissioner

New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs
Office: 609-530-7033
Fax: 609-530-7191   veterans.nj.gov

Recent Bills signed into Law

On Thursday, 20 January 2026, Governor Murphy -as his last act as Governor – signed the following bills into law:

S-1458/A-2138 (Lagana, Gopal/Moen, Danielsen, Karabinchak) – Requires the NJ Commissioner of Department of Veterans Affairs to develop mobile application to provide guidance on available resources to veterans and their families

S-3800/A-5048 (Johnson, Cruz-Perez/Katz, Peterpaul, Tucker) – Enhances protections under Law Against Discrimination for persons serving in military and military veterans

S-4858/A-6000 (Gopal, Mukherji/Tucker, Murphy, Reynolds-Jackson) – Establishes “New Jersey Veterans and Military Spouses Asset Protection Act.”

A-1131wGR/S-3022 (Murphy, Matsikoudis/Singer, Amato) – Requires the NJ Department of Veterans Affairs to verify unclaimed cremains of veterans, spouses, and dependents; requires funeral director to report to Department of Veterans Affairs possession of unclaimed veteran, spouse, and dependent cremains

LEADERSHIP SCHOOL

The Department of New Jersey will assemble its Leadership School to be held on Saturday, 14 March 2026. There is a new format whereas the course materials are to be downloaded from the Department website prior to attending the class.

The course will be conducted at the NJ National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt, NJ and will begin at 0800 and conclude at approximately 1600.

Our course outlines and curriculum will facilitate a greater understanding and working knowledge for the attendees while covering general and operational aspects of the Marine Corps League and its members.

It is strongly encouraged and recommended that all newly elected and or appointed officers attend. The cost is $40.00 and is Non-Refundable upon commitment.

2026 MCL NJ Department Convention

April 24-26, 2026

The State of NJ Department of the MCL 98th Annual Convention is returning to the Seaview Hotel (401 South NY Rd, Galloway, NJ 08205) again this Spring.  The Slattery Commandant and Adjutant are planning to attend, and they are looking for some others to join them.  More information and forms are available here: Department Convention | Department of New Jersey Marine Corps League

Here are the upcoming deadlines for the convention. Please download the forms below to meet these deadlines.

• Newsletter Competition Deadline: March 9, 2026
• Delegate Pre-Registration Fee Deadline: March 23, 2026
• Marine/Associate of the Year Award Submission Deadlines: March 23, 2025
• Recruiting Awards Deadline: March 23, 2026
• Annual “Murray J. Sklar” Role Model Award Deadline: March 23, 2026
• Hotel Room Rate Registration Deadline: March 24, 2026 – call the Seaview Hotel via the Hyatt Reservation number (609-652-1800, option 1)
• Banquet Dinner Registration Deadline: April 9, 2026