Area veterans were honored and homeless veterans  were fed the evening of Dec. 20 in the St. Clement Parish Center as part of “Operation Thank You, Merry Christmas.” The event that was organized by the Matawan Council, Knights of Columbus, with the assistance of the St. Clement Parish Community.

Inspired by a talk given to the council a month earlier by Andre Yates, founder of the Yates House for Military Veterans, Plainfield, the event was designed to raise awareness for the veterans who are now homeless in New Jersey and the urgent need to provide transitional housing for them, while also offering an opportunity to pay tribute to all veterans who have served their country.

“With all of the terrible things happening in the recent weeks from the Paris bombings to the attack in San Bernardino, we thought developing an event that would be all about giving and would allow us to pay tribute to our veterans,” said Carl Duque, council Grand Knight.

“Our veterans are something we cannot take for granted,” noted Father Thomas Vala, pastor of St. Clement Parish. “We enjoy so many freedoms because of these vets. We have to be reminded each day to give thanks to them for all they have done for our country.”

With the blessing of Father Vala, the Knights began working together with Pat Thein, parish religious education coordinator, to arrange for food donations from children in the religious education program.  A number of the children were on hand at the dinner during which they carried signs containing messages of thanks to the veterans.

About 15 veterans currently living in transient housing attended the event along with members of the local American Legion and St. Clement Parish veterans.  They enjoyed a dinner prepared by the altar rosary society and nurses from Centra State Hospital, Freehold. After dinner, each branch of the military marched into the parish hall and took their positions in front of the main dais so the assembled parishioners could salute them for their service.

“I am so grateful for the Knights and [Father Vala] and the entire St. Clement community for opening their hearts to our veterans,” said Andre Yates.  “Right now these transient vets each are living in an 80-square-foot room in Plainfield. It is our hope that events like this will help us raise the consciousness of their plight and help us with our mission of fully transforming the Yates House for Military Veterans into one that can provide housing for up to 35 transitional and permanent residents.

Thein commented: “We have been teaching our children the Corporal Acts of Mercy and this project gave us a chance to teach them a lesson in giving and allow them to emphasize with our veterans and give thanks for all they have done for our country.” 

The guest speaker at the event, retired defensive lineman Eric Dorsey, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants, summed up the importance of an organization like the Yates House.

“My father was killed in the line of duty as a police officer in Washington D.C., when I was three and my brother was two. Heroes, an organization like the Yates House moved us to the suburbs of Virginia. I often wonder what my life would have been like growing up in the inner city without a father.”