UPDATE Regarding EVENTS

With thousands of like-minded followers, Patriot Connections has been dedicated to providing our veteran, military, first responder and patriot community with a comprehensive resource of events in NJ, PA and the surrounding areas for the last 10 years - including resources for veterans and first responders. Whether it's information on upcoming 5K Runs/Walks, Sporting Events, Job Fairs, Town Hall Meetings, Motorcycle Runs, Ceremonies, Dinners, Dances, Honor Missions, Welcome Homes, Golf Outings, or Resources for our Veterans, Military and 1st Responders. 

November 2021 - Over the last couple of years (including COVID), many events were cancelled/postponed and most organizations have chosen to list their events on social media platforms such as Facebook. Due to decrease in organizations listing their events directly on the Patriot Connection website, we primarily just list events on the Patriot Connections Facebook Page. Feel free to visit our Facebook Page for upcoming events and submit your events there. 

 

 

12 Dec

Breakfast with Santa for military families

12/12/2015    
9:00 am
Military families are invited to enjoy Breakfast with Santa aboard the Battleship New Jersey on Saturday, Dec. 12, beginning at 9am. We are offering a special price of just $10 per person for military families. Enjoy a hot breakfast, a tour of the Battleship, chances to win great prizes and meet Santa Claus! To reserve your spot or to purchase tickets, call 866-877-6262 ext. 107.
12 Dec

Casciano coffee Bar and sweetery

12/12/2015    
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
To benefit project little soldier. stop by for coffee and see Santa and his helpers. toys collected are for children of our New Jersey Deployed soldiers, Disabled Veterans, veterans in need and American recreational Military services. toys may also be dropped off month at the casciano coffee bar. Rolling thunder contacts Brenda Einhorn (609)330-0040 Iris Amoriello (609)618-8118
12 Dec

Escort of 52 vets from Walter Reed & Gold Star families to Army/Navy Game

12/12/2015    
11:30 am
Join in escorting veterans from Walter Reed and Gold Star families to Army Navy Game. The Travis Manion Foundation has arranged for game tickets and tailgating for Gold Star family members, plus wounded military members who will travel from Walter Reed Hospital in a luxury bus to the tailgate event. Rally Time: 11:00am KSU: 11:30am Rally Location: Welcome Center -I95 - Questions/POC Rob Bender Rbender@travismanion.org
12 Dec

Army Navy Tailgate Party - hosted by Travis Manion for wounded Veterans from Walter Reed and Gold Star members

12/12/2015    
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
WHAT: Army vs. Navy Football Game Veteran’s Tailgate, hosted by Travis Manion Foundation for wounded Veterans from Walter Reed, Gold Star family members, and additional supporters. WHEN: Saturday, December 12th, 2015, 12 noon - 3 p.m. WHERE: Lincoln Financial Field, “K” Parking Lot, 1 Lincoln Financial Field Way, Philadelphia, PA 19147
12 Dec

Wreaths Across America - Cedar Hills

12/12/2015    
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
We will be laying wreaths on the veterans graves that are laid to rest at Cedar Hill Memorial Park. Cemeteries are for the living. Every stone tells a story. REMEMBER the fallen HONOR those who served or are serving TEACH the children the value of freedom.
12 Dec

Welcome Home WWII Sgt Walter Janton

12/12/2015    
2:30 pm
Join Warriors Watch and friends - We have been ask by the family and friends of Sgt. Janton to escort this WWII Hero to his 95TH Birthday party and since this is what we do best how could we say no Rally point: Wawa food store 1445 S. Black Horse Pike Williamstown NJ 08094 Rally time: 1430 KSU: 1455 to pick up hereo
12 Dec

Honoring 5 veterans at Xmas Tree Cutting Party

12/12/2015    
3:15 pm
Join Warriors Watch and friends - We have been asked if it would be possible to stop by honor 5 heroes at one time at a Christmas tree cutting party on 12/12..........HELL YEAH!!!!!!! A request came in from a proud sister/ aunt to honor her brother and 3 nephews. 1 Marine 2 Army 2 Air Force Rally Point: Brian's H/D Rally Time: 3:15 pm KSU........: 4:00 pm This will be a ride to the Levittown area.
12 Dec

Wreaths Across America - Finns Point Cemetery

12/12/2015    
5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Wreaths across America at noon at Finns Point Cemetary (behind Fort Mott) will be followed again by: Soldiers Christmas Take a lantern tour through history, seeing and hearing how soldiers, Sailors and Civilians celebrated, endured and lived during the holidays throughout history. Each year participants get to see how different eras lived during this time, and we always have something new for you! Start at the museum with a walk through history and a warm beverage - then follow your tour guide as you step back through time and meet characters from all eras. From Civil war POW exchanges to Allies on their last furlough before heading back to the front, from the foriegn soldiers fighting for the crown against General Washington to the Allies [...]
12 Dec

Second Saturday Covered Dish Night - “UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER NIGHT”

12/12/2015    
7:00 pm
Wear your ugliest Christmas sweater! Bring a dish to share! Featuring the Seductive Sounds of Greg Armstrong! Enjoy Greg Armstrong with his warm resonant, smooth style and on spot delivery as he pays tribute to Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, & Bobby Darin. Please come out and support the Post and enjoy the Camaraderie of your fellow Veterans. Invite your friends!
 


PATRIOT CONNECTIONS DOG TAG PROJECT

The Patriot Connections DOG TAG PROJECT MISSION: Return dog tags that were lost and found to the veterans they belong to or their families. If you believe we may have your dog tag please contact Director of Research/Returns Sue Quinn-Morris at squinn9807@aol.com or 856-495-7270.

THE DOG TAG COLLECTIONS

SOUTH JERSEY COLLECTION – This collection of dog tags (450) journey home began in 1993 from DaNang and China Beach area in Vietnam where they were being sold in shops. Gloucester County Time Reporter Jim Six asked the then Deptford Police Chief Ray Milligan to purchase as many as he could and bring them home, as Milligan traveled back and forth to Vietnam for Operation Smile. He brought back 450 of them and gave them to Jim Six. Over the years several people/organizations worked with Jim Six on returning some of the dog tags. In 2010, he gave the rest to us to try and locate and return the rest of them. With much effort and research, we have located many, completed returns and have more returns underway throughout the United States. 

BOUGOURD COLLECTION - This collection of dog tags began their journey home after British Army/Navy veteran, Aaron Bougourd, received them from the family of Major Thien in 2006. Bougourd had been volunteering for the Father Ray Foundation Orphanage in Thialand when he met Major Thien, and helped him find his lost family in Vietnam. Thien, a South Vietnamese officer living as a refugee. Major Ly Kim Thien was commissioned as an officer of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in 1964 and served in several capacities throughout Vietnam up until the fall of Saigon in 1975. It was after this that he was sent to a communist reeducation camp, where he was tortured and forced to denounce his anti-communist beliefs. In 1994 he escaped Vietnam on foot through Cambodia and on to Thailand, which is where Aaron Bougourd met him. Thien’s family, as a token of appreciation, gave Bougourd some dog tags they had found at Ben Hoa Air Base. Aaron, a resident of the UK, reached out and sent some of the dog tags to Patriot Connections Dog Tag Project to help return them. Returns are underway. 

SANTAYANA COLLECTION - Touring the Ho Chi Minh trail in 1998, Wall Street trader Manny Santayana stumbled onto a Vietnamese man who made a living out of extracting bombs from the ground, grinding up the metal and selling it for profit. Sometime he would stumble upon dog tags from U.S. soldiers, which he would collect and store in an ammo bag under his bed. Santayana paid him $100 for 105 dog tags and brought them back home.Over the next several years, he was able to make some returns to dog tag owners, but he eventually became too busy to continue with the research. He then enlisted the help of Senator James Beach, who formed a committee for dog tag returns – Quinn-Morris has researched and facilitated returns from this collection. The collection is stored in the NJ State House.

HUTCHINGS COLLECTION - In December 2012, Jack Hutchings, a prominent businessman in Florida,  had been traveling on his yacht in the Solomon Islands. There, the villagers gave him some American WWII dog tags they had found. He brought them home in hopes of getting them returned to the veterans/families. . Upon returning home, he stumbled across a newspaper article in the Orlando-Sentinel about the dog tag return to USMC Vietnam veteran, James Alderman that we did. This prompted him to contact us in hopes that we could located and return the dog tags to the veterans/families they belong to.

MISC COLLECTIONS - From time to time we are contacted by people that have found dog tags and are looking for help in returning them. As long as they are looking to do so with NO CHARGE to the veteran, we do aide them in finding and returning.

Organizations helping with Dog Tag Project The following organizations have and continue to aid with the return of the dog tags nationwide; Nam Knights of America MC, American Legion Riders, VFW Riders, Warriors Watch Riders, Patriot Guard Riders, various American Legion Posts and VFW Posts. Returns have taken place in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida, Illinois, New York, Arizona, Tennessee, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Ohio, Maine, Kentucky, Washington DC, Oregon, Texas, California, Washington and Michigan.

It is essential to the Project that the dog tags are handled and delivered to the veterans and/or their families in a dignified manner.  From the moment the dog tag is handed off, to the moment it reaches the hand of the veteran, the dog tag is well cared for and attended to, to ensure that it arrives to the veteran/family safely. If you believe we may have your dog tag, or a dog tag that belongs to a family member or friend, please contact Director of Research/Returns Sue Quinn-Morris at squinn9807@aol.com or 856-495-7270.

* Over 100 dog tags have been reunited with the veterans/families they belonged to. Please bear with us as we update the dog tag return stories and dog tag lists *