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Vets bravery honored

MONDAY 07.04.16

AMANDA OGLESBY @OGLESBYAPP

PETER ACKERMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

WWII veteran Walter Pruiksma of Brick was honored with

the French Legion of Honors insignia of chivalry.

BRICK - The battle raged on the beaches of Normandy when Walter Pruiksma escorted a 54-year-old
wounded French woman through the Allied front lines
to a hospital in nothing but a two-wheeled cart pulled
by a single horse.
Pruiksma was just 20 years old on that night 72
years ago when, as a nearly fearless military policeman who recently had landed on Utah Beach for the
D-Day invasion, he volunteered to escort the woman,
her son-in-law and daughter over the front line to a
hospital in the French town of Carentan. The woman
was gravely ill, suffering from a grenade wound to
her ankle, when her family who spoke no English
beseeched the military police battalion for help.
Pruiksma knew he had to help.
See VETERAN, Page 5A

STAR-SPANGLED
CELEBRATION

beachedition
YOUR WEEKEND GUIDE DOWN THE SHORE

Fireworks bursting
in air everywhere
Celebrate our country by watching the dazzling
aerial shows at dusk. Full list of events on 2A.

PHOTOS BY NOAH K. MURRAY/CORRESPONDENT

Above and below: Spectators enjoy Fourth of July fireworks at Freehold Raceway on Sunday. See more photos at APP.com.

Digging for history at Sandy Hook

JERRY CARINO CARINOS CORNER

ED PAGLIARINI/CORRESPONDENT

A member of Monmouth Universitys archeology team sorts

through items unearthed near the Sandy Hook Lighthouse.

At least 115 died Sunday

in a suicide bombing in
Baghdad claimed by ISIS. 1B

ADVICE
BUSINESS
CLASSIFIED
COMICS
LOCAL

3C
6A
5C
4C
3A

MIDDLETOWN - Joey Diaz found

something that seemed interesting. So
he walked over to Richard Veit, head
of the Monmouth University team
conducting an archaeological dig at
Sandy Hook Lighthouse, and handed it
to him.
The small glass plate had Chateau
Lafite engraved on it.
Google it, Veit told Diaz. I think its some sort
of fancy French champagne.
Close. Chateau Lafite is a leading French wine
label, one that produced some of historys most
prized Bordeaux vintages. Its presence in the soil at
the foot of the lighthouse, which was erected in 1764,
indicates a past tenant with refined taste.
But who? Maybe one of the lighthouse keepers
who lived in virtual isolation at the end of this sixmile barrier spit. Or perhaps an officer in the British Army, which held Sandy Hook as a key strategic
fort throughout the American Revolution.
Diaz set aside the plate for further examination,
along with the musket balls, nails, uniform buttons,
tobacco pipes and scores of other artifacts Veits
crew has unearthed over five weeks. The dig conSee CARINO, Page 8A

LOTTERIES
OBITUARIES
OPINION
SPORTS
WEATHER

2A
7A
9A
1D
8D

VOLUME 137
NUMBER 159
SINCE 1879

Declare
your
patriotism

Watch an
old-time
parade

Come to Freehold and join

other citizens in reading
the Declaration of
Independence.

Theres nothing like

showing off the red, white
and blue at a local July 4
parade.

Its a party
and youre invited!
Say Happy Birthday America at one of numerous carnivals,
concerts and picnics.

All this and more inside! 2A