Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • May 21, 2014 Midland Park Zuidema to lead parade; Marine Moms to speak David Zuidema, a Midland Park native, has been selected as the Grand Marshal of the Midland Park Memorial Day Parade to be held this Saturday, May 24. Three mem- bers of the Mahwah Marine Moms / North Jersey Military Moms will be the featured speakers during Memorial Day obser- vances following the parade at 11 a.m. Zuidema had begun a career at a New York City laboratory when he decided to enlist in the US Air Force during the Korean Conflict in 1950. But there was a flu epidemic in Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, where he was to report for basic training, and he had already given notice at his job, so he signed up for three years in the Army instead. Assigned to the 759 th Military Police Battalion after his basic training at Fort Dix, he was shipped to Germany and spent the bulk of his enlistment as a desk sergeant in Berlin, primarily within the Russian sector there. Because he had been a baseball player at Pompton Lakes High School, from where he had graduated in 1948, he played baseball and basketball for the Army teams as well. On one of his leaves, he came home to marry his sweetheart, Eleanor, and after his enlistment was up, they settled in Midland Park, where he joined the family business, Zuidema Inc. He has been at the company’s helm since his father’s retirement in 1965. Active in Midland Park/Wyckoff VFW Post 7086 for the past 25 years, Zuidema stayed in touch with his Army comrades as well. He and his wife have attended annual Army reunions at such places as Chicago, Albuquerque and Las Vegas since his dis- charge, returning to Berlin every four years. He said the group, which had 75 members in its heyday, is now down to a few, and this is the first year he himself is skipping the Berlin gathering. Marine Moms to speak Eileen Matarazzo, TerryWendrychow- icz and Sherry Fusco will share the podium as keynote speakers during Memorial Day observance. The three women are mem- bers of the Mahwah Marine Moms – North Jersey Military Moms, a group of 60 dedi- cated women from throughout the area committed to making life a little bit easier for the brave men and women putting their lives on the line in the fight against terror- ism. Their mission is to support those who serve in the military, and they count on community support to carry out that mis- sion. They will speak of their experiences as women whose sons have answered the call to serve their country and explain what Memorial Day means from their perspec- tive. Matarazzo, one of the founding mem- bers of the Mahwah Marine Moms, recently retired from 25 plus years in public school education. Her youngest son, Michael, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on December 19 2005. His tour of active duty included serving in Okinawa, Japan, Clockwise from left: David Zuidema, Jr., Terry Wendrychow- icz, Sherry Fusco, and Eileen Matarazzo. South Korea and Quantico, Virginia. Michael, a 2010 graduate of the University of Maryland, is currently employed by the National Park Service at the National Head- quarters in Washington, DC and is pursu- ing a Master’s Degree at Virginia Tech. Wendrychowicz’s son Keith, the young- est of seven children, took the oath to become a United States Marine on Sep- tember 11, 2005. She began reaching out to other Moms who had a son or daughter serving in the military, and in early 2006, six moms formed the Mahwah Marine Moms - North Jersey Military Moms. “Our mission is to support those who serve and along the way, we support each other,” she says. After serving his country with two tours in Iraq, Keith recently graduated from col- lege. Fusco’s youngest son, James, is a USMC Corporal stationed in Okinawa, Japan. He is an assault amphibious vehicle mechanic. Another son, Zach, is an EMT and has served on the local rescue squad (continued on page 21)