Belmar to reclaim Breslin Monument and Honor Pat & Sandy’s Legacy

August 17, 2009 by MayorKenPringle
Filed under Belmar History, Featured, Recreation News

Saturday marked the 60th anniversary of a long-forgotten ceremony at the Belmar marina that deserves to be remembered. On August 15, 1949, Pat and Sandy Breslin, the unassuming proprietors of the marina’s luncheonette and boat rental concession, dedicated a small granite monument outside their establishment. The inscription read: “To the glory of God, and to those who served, fought and died that our flag may forever fly in honor and peace.” Little did Pat and Sandy know that this small act – and the countless quiet acts of generosity that had preceded it – would ripple across our nation, and lead all the way to the White House.

The story of the Breslin monument began nearly eight years earlier. On December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor, while a stunned nation tried to digest the enormity of what had transpired, Pat and Sandy immediately grasped that everyone would need to do their part to support the war effort. They wrote a letter to the Congress in which they offered their boating and fishing pier in the Belmar marina at no cost to our soldiers, sailors and marines.

They kept their pledge. Not only through the war years, but for another dozen years after the war ended, Pat and Sandy fed countless servicemen and women and lent them fishing tackle and row boats. They refused to accept a dime in return. They would even insist these servicemen use their telephone to call home and talk to their loved ones.

Over the years, Pat and Sandy Breslin’s quiet hospitality and generosity became legendary. They received thousands of letters from all over the world, often from the servicemen themselves, but also from their families, and even from complete strangers who thanked them for what they were doing. As the years passed, many servicemen would come back to visit, not so much for the free hospitality, as to thank Pat and Sandy again in person. All too often during these visits, Pat and Sandy would hear about those who had shared their hospitality but hadn’t made it back from the war. The monument they dedicated 60 years ago today, was their way of expressing their gratitude to all who served, and especially those who gave their lives.

The dedication of the Breslin monument 60 years ago, was far from the end of the story. A few years later, in 1953, Pat and Sandy were invited the White House, where they were honored by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. A year later, they would also receive medals from Cardinal Spellman.

In 1957, Pat and Sandy’s concession license wasn’t renewed due to a planned renovation of the marina. The Breslin monument was put in storage until September, 1960, when Pat and Sandy wrote to President Eisenhower to request his help in finding a permanent location for the memorial. Soon after, Major General William D. Hamlin, the then Commanding General of Fort Monmouth, offered to accept the monument at Fort Monmouth. In April of 1961, the Breslin memorial was officially accepted by Fort Monmouth in a formal ceremony complete with an honor guard and military band.

But for the impending closing of Fort Monmouth, the story of Pat & Sandy Breslin and their monument might have ended here. In the fall of 2006, unaware that it had been moved, Sandy’s grandson, Norm Eaise, visited the Belmar marina to look for the monument he had heard so much about as a child. When he couldn’t find it, he contacted me, and with the assistance of our then Borough Clerk Marg Plummer, Congressman Frank Pallone’s office and the Fort Monmouth Historical Office, we were able to track the monument down to Fort Monmouth. A few months later, with the support of Mr. Eaise and his family and the Belmar Historical Council, the Borough of Belmar made a formal request that the Breslin monument be returned to Belmar.

If all goes as planned, the Breslin monument will soon be given a permanent place of honor at the Belmar marina. We plan to hold a formal rededication ceremony for the monument on Memorial Day, May 31, 2010. But it will be on Veterans Day, November 11, 2009, when we will honor Pat and Sandy’s legacy in a way they would most appreciate. The Borough will be hosting a banquet at which our community and its restaurants will come together to honor and thank all of Belmar’s veterans. In gratitude for their service, and in memory of Pat & Sandy, we will refuse to accept a dime from them.

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