Veterans' Picnic Brings 300 Together

First-ever Salem County Veterans Picnic draws more than 300
South New Jersey Times
Spencer Kent
September 13, 2014

PILESGROVE TWP. — Tami Mowers-Thomas feared she'd fail in giving veterans the event she felt they deserved.

But the granddaughter of a World War II veteran, Mowers-Thomas was motivated to deliver something worthy of the sacrifice veterans of all eras have given to their country.

At the first-ever Salem County Veterans Picnic on Saturday at the Salem County Fairgrounds, Mowers-Thomas was in tears, as the event drew a successful crowd of roughly 300 people and veterans from all over Salem County.

Sandy Wentzello, of Salem, is a Korean War and World War II veteran. Wentzello served in the U.S. Air Force. After being wounded in Korea, he was held as a prisoner of war. He escaped and went 13 days without food and water. He had no shoes and had to wrap his feet with his shirt in the blistering cold.

These are the kind of stories that only those who have gone to war can understand. And it's the type of events like Saturday's picnic that allow veterans to get together to be with people who understand them.
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