WATERFORD TWP., N.J.
  WAR MEMORIAL

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Camden Courier-Post - April 25, 2004

Ceremony Honors Life Lost In War
Memorial For SEAL To Be Erected In August

By JASON LAUGHLIN

A ceremony Saturday marked the groundbreaking for a memorial honoring an Atco man killed while serving in Afghanistan, David Tapper.

"The loss of David has been devastating to our family and friends," said David's mother, Judi, in comments at the 3 p.m. ceremony. "Life will never be the same without him. He is our hero."

The memorial, a stone tablet bearing a picture of Tapper, will be erected at the American Legion Post 311 on Atco Avenue at 7 p.m. on the one-year anniversary of Tapper's death, Aug. 20. It will be placed beside marble monuments on the property honoring three other local men killed while serving their country.

The ceremony, attended by more than 100 township officials, friends of Tapper and others honoring Tapper's sacrifice, was the result of a community effort to ensure Tapper is remembered, his mother said.

Among the speakers were Mayor Lorie Toussaint and Deputy Mayor Anthony Clark.

Contributors to the memorial included friends and numerous companies from around the area, from landscapers to masons, who have offered their money and skills to the effort.

Tapper, a 32-year-old Navy SEAL, was killed after his convoy encountered enemy forces near Orgun in Afghanistan's Paktika Province, near the Pakistan border.

The Navy commando died at a hospital at Bagram Air Base near Kabul. He left behind his wife, Tracy, and his four children: Raimen, 12; Vanessa, 9; Talia, 5; and Jared, 4.

Tapper enlisted in the Navy immediately after graduating from Edgewood High School in 1989.

Tapper was decorated numerous times during his military career. He had received, among other citations, two Bronze Stars with Combat Distinguishing Devices and the Purple Heart.

Tapper's mother thanked members of the community for their support in her speech, and spoke of the pride she had in her son.

"He died fighting for the very freedom that a patriot, and we as Americans, most cherish," she said.

After the ceremony, Tapper's mother and his father, Ken, said they are still haunted by the death of their son. His mother said she still watches the news regularly, and is stricken when she hears about the deaths of other soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. The most recent and one of the most high profile casualties to come out of Afghanistan was the death of Pat Tillman, a former Arizona Cardinals football player who became an Army Ranger after Sept. 11. He, like Tapper, was a member of the special forces.

"I still watch the news because I need to be praying for the families," Tapper's mother said after the ceremony.

Turnout at Saturday's event was evidence that Tapper's death has continued to resonate in his home community.

"It gives people an opportunity to express their patriotism," Ken Tapper said.

HOW TO HELP

Anyone interested in donating for David Tapper's memorial can send checks to the Waterford Township Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 635, Atco, 08004 

HMTS Rohna

       Six men from Camden NJ, Frank Ballerino, Michael Carr,  Michael Yachus, Stephen V. Koscianski, Lewis Riondino, and Joseph H. Johnson died together when the troop transport HMTS Rohna was struck by a German guided glider bomb and sank of the coast of North Africa. In addition,  six other Camden County men, Jacob Kessler Jenkins and Carl Johanson of Pennsauken, 19 year-old Harry V. Taylor Jr. of Haddonfield, William McKeon of Blackwood, Merl Reagle of Lindenwold, and Elmer F. Day of Merchantville and  also were lost that day. Many other men from South Jersey were killed as well. In total, 1,015 men were lost, but the story was never told to the families or the general public for over 57 years due to wartime censorship.

CAMDEN COUNTY NJ HMTS ROHNA MEMORIAL

The Rohna Survivors Memorial Association

MSNBC Coverage - Tom Brokaw
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CAMDEN COUNTY NJ
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Beverly National Cemetery

     MARTIN R. WALDVOGEL, Jr., Private, of Atco, was stricken on November 14, 1918, and died two days later from pneumonia. He served in Headquarters Company, 312th Infantry, 78th Infantry Division, in all the important battles that division was in. He was drafted February 25, 1918 and sent to Camp Dix (present-day Fort Dix) for training. He sailed overseas with his regiment in May. The young soldier was the son of Martin and Daisy Waldvogel, of           RETURN