May 21, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Wyckoff Grand marshal Coppe was decorated for valor Arthur Coppe, Wyckoff’s 2014 grand marshal for the May 26 Memorial Day Parade, was decorated for valor with the French Croix de Guerre and the U.S. Purple Heart for combat wounds. He also earned the Combat Infantry Badge during cam- paigns in Italy and in France in World War II. Born in Prospect Park, Coppe was drafted into the U.S. Army in January of 1943. He trained as an infantryman at Camp Wheeler, near Macon, Georgia and was deployed as a replacement in Italy for Oper- ation Shingle, landing at Anzio, rated as one of the toughest battles of the war in Europe. He served with the 3rd Infantry Division, Seventh Army, as a member of the ammuni- tion and pioneering company that provided support and logistics for front-line troops. He advanced with the Third Army from Anzio to Rome and then north to the River Arno during the Italian campaign, and his outfit was then transferred to France, where he took part in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns in Germany. He received the Distinguished Unit Badge, the Good Conduct Medal, the Vic- tory Medal, and the European African Middle Eastern Medal since his first land- fall was in Casablanca after the landings that had taken place the year before. He also received an Expert Infantryman’s badge. Coppe’s wife Marion passed away about 20 years ago. His son and his daughter were both educated in the Wyckoff K-8 schools and at Ramapo High School. The parade will begin with a ceremony at 8 a.m. behind Wyckoff Town Hall, and a veterans’ memorial service will honor all (continued on page 21) The Wyckoff Township Committee recently honored Joseph Buis with a proc- lamation commemorating his 50 years as a member of the Wyckoff Volunteer Ambu- lance Corps. Buis was also honored by having the ambulance corps’ newest vehicle emblazoned with his name in honor of his five decades of service. Buis joined the American Legion Post 83 Ambulance Corps in 1964 and thus became a charter member of the Wyckoff Volunteer Ambulance Corps when the unit was formed in 1966. He served as captain from 1975 until 1977 and as interim captain in 2001, and as a member of each new rig committee since 1966, a position for which his skills as a master mechanic eminently qualified him. Mayor Douglas Christie and the members of the Wyckoff Township Committee pro- claimed that he had shown himself to be an exceptional corps leader. Joseph Buis Buis honored for service Arthur Coppe