BY U.S. REP. CHRIS SMITH (NJ-04) for the Trentonian The week of Thanksgiving is often a difficult time for the daughters of Walter Patterson, who was attacked on Nov. 23, 1962 at his Wall, N.J. gas station and died two days later Nov. 25. Those sad anniversaries are made worse because they know that their father’s killer, George Wright, lives freely and defiantly today in Portugal. In recent years I have been pushing the Obama Administration to ramp up efforts to seek extradition American fugit... Read more

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By Rob Spahr | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com/The Star-Ledger When Richard Walker, Jr. came home from Vietnam – and the conflict he volunteered to serve in with the U.S. Army – the last thing he was thinking about was collecting the medals he earned there. "I think I did a good job and I was proud that I served. But when I came home, we were 'baby killers' and 'dope smokers,' and if you came back as a military person you were ostracized," Walker said. "So I came home, grew my hair long, traveled th... Read more

U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) presented a long-overdue Bronze Medal to Richard A. Walker, Jr. of Neptune City, nearly 45 years after he was supposed to get it for combat action in Vietnam. Mr. Walker accepted the medal before family and friends and reporters from The Star Ledger, the Asbury Park Press and Fios 1 TV. Smith additionally presented Mr. Walker with: the Army Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal; the National Defense Service Medal; the Vietnam Service Medal & Bronze Star ... Read more

BY DAN RADEL APP STAFF WRITER - When he returned from the Vietnam War in 1970, Richard A. Walker, Jr. did not want to receive his Bronze Star. “In the ’60s and ’70s being a military person you got spit on, called baby killers. It was better to be obscure than chastised,” said Walker, 66, of Neptune City. “And I never liked the way we ended it there by just walking out,” he added Born in Point Pleasant, his family moved to Wall Township where he dropped out of high school and volunteered to go to... Read more

BY MIKE DAVIS, TIMES OF TRENTON STAFF WRITER - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun studying causes and impact of flooding at the Assunpink Creek, officials announced on Friday. The $500,000 study is expected to take two years to complete and will include the eight-mile section of the creek that stretches from Mercer Lake in Mercer County Park through Trenton to the Delaware River, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.) announced in a news release. If a feasible flooding solution is identifie... Read more

BY WRITER KELLY CORDREY FOR ASBURY PARK PRESS - Some people thought we'd never get a shovel in the ground, Donna Blaze, CEO of the Affordable Housing Alliance (AHA), told the crowd on a rainy Thursday morning. But on October 23rd AHA did just that with a groundbreaking event for its newest project, known as the Allen House Apartments. The design and location reflect the commitment and the compassion of Millstone Township, Blaze said. This ten unit apartment complex, housing seniors 62 and over, ... Read more

BY ASBURY PARK PRESS STAFF WRITER AMANDA OGLESBY -- Nearly 70 years after shrapnel tore into the right fingers and hand of Leonard "Lenny" Brotzky in a 2 a.m. shelling of his artillery unit during the Battle of the Bulge, the 89-year-old Manchester resident finally received his Purple Heart. Much has changed since Brotzky served at a Technician-5 in the Army's 36th Division 155th Field Artillery unit in World War II. But he still remembers how the shrapnel pierced his hand and arm when mortar sh... Read more

BY EDWARD COLIMORE, Inquirer Staff Writer -- Maybe he should have gotten a medal for patience. After waiting seven decades, World War II veteran Leonard Brotzky was honored Thursday with a Purple Heart for wounds he received during the Battle of the Bulge. "After 70 years, I'm finally getting it," said Brotzky, 89, of Manchester Township, Ocean County, at a presentation ceremony at the district office of U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R., N.J.). "I felt I earned it." The medal should have been awarded ... Read more

BY ASBURY PARK PRESS WRITER KEVIN PENTON - The U.S. Postal Service has settled on a location where township residents will be able to go to fulfill their mailing needs in the downtown area once the Clifton Avenue building is sold. The post office will contract with a private company that will operate a facility at 218 Clifton Ave., just a couple of blocks north of the current building, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who met with postal officials on the matter in recent days. “The postal nee... Read more