Hillsborough's 'Hometown Heroes' Share the Lessons of Wars

Historians can look back at wars and paint the big picture of what happened, but for a clearer snapshot, the best sources are the people who were there, the grunts and sailors, pilots and Psy OPs.

And thanks to a just-completed project by Hillsborough Girl Scout Nicole Rossi, the stories of 11 local veterans of five different wars are available for students, residents and even historians looking to complete the picture.

Nicole undertook her "Hometown Heroes" project in May 2012 for the Girl Scouts' Gold Award, which requires completion of a community service project. After visiting Washington, DC, she decided a collection of interviews with veterans would be a good project and worked with township officials, including the Mayor's Office Township Administrator Anthony Ferrera and Township Clerk Pam Borek, Hillsborough High School's Video and Film Department, and Caz Bielen, of Premier Media.

On Wednesday, Nicole opened her 90-minute film, which included the memories, stories and advice from World War II veterans Joseph Arena, Mildred Murphy, Korean Conflict vet Robert McCray, Vietnam veterans Carlo Buonviaggio, Ted Dima, Keith Marley, John Burke, George Mariasz, Richard Feldman, John Kauffman, who served in Kosovo during the Bosnian War, and Maj. Jonathan Lapidow, a veteran of the Iraq War—with most of her subjects on hand.

"It was very well done," Marley said afterwards. He said he thought it was important for people to be able to hear the experiences of veterans.

Burke said he thought the project was a great idea and added "it's got legs."

"I don't think anyone else is doing this and it needs to be done," he said, before the showing.

The interviews include the humorous and heartbreaking stories of war, the strange chances of fate that lead some to serve in one branch or another, and the things they learned serving in the military.

Copies of the video were given to each of the veterans, and will be available for viewing at the Hillsborough Public Library. Nicole has also been contacted by the school district for use in the schools to supplement history lessons.