Gus Rogers of Old Bridge was among 2 busloads of veterans who traveled to Trenton to visit the state's World War II memorial.
"It's like history coming alive. It's history just coming alive again."
"If you remember the things that happened during that time it sort of makes your heart race a little," said veteran Francis Kovalsky.
The veterans made their way around the memorial across from the statehouse taking in the panels of photos from pivotal moments in the second World War and admiring the statues and sculptures. The one that symbolizes a fallen soldier brought a flood of memories.
"You feel like crying. You're gonna have me crying soon. A lot of buddies were left there in Normandy," said veteran Victor Quagliariello.
Mary Cannizaro brought a picture of her husband Carmine taken when he was an 18-year-old infantryman.
"I'm lucky, my two brothers and I, we were all in the service, we all came back," said Carmine.
"I just cry for all those young men, they were all babies going to war and being killed," said Mary.
It's well-documented that World War II veterans are dying at a rate of over a thousand a day. The vets here are all too aware of that. So you can imagine how happy they are to be able to come and see this memorial in person.
"It was the greatest invasion in modern, the world has ever seen or will see again, something short of a miracle," said veteran Thomas Scriggignano.
The trip was organized by a Monmouth County lawmaker who also arranged for hundreds of vets to see the World War II memorial in Washington.
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