Essex County Sons Return

submitted by Rusty Myers, Adjutant, Sons of the American Legion Squadron 105

(21 MARCH 2024) – BELLEVILLE, NJ – At the Department Commander’s Official Visit to Essex County, the officers of the newly created Sons of the American Legion (SAL) Essex County Executive Committee were installed last week at Post 105 in Belleville.

The Department, or state level, American Legion makes an official visit to each of New Jersey’s 21 counties throughout the year, where the Department Commander and his leadership team meet the members of the Posts, Units, and Squadron which make up the local American Legion. March was Department Commander Larry Bishop’s official visit to Essex and joining him were the Department American Legion Auxiliary President Sharon Knight, and the SAL Detachment Commander Keith Barnes. These three officers, who preside over the approximately 30,000 American Legion Family members in New Jersey, took office in June 2023 and end their term after the Wildwood Convention during the second week of June 2024.

At that March County meeting, SAL Detachment Commander Barnes installed the newly elected officers of the SAL Essex County Executive Committee, which was officially created in the first week of March. In what has been years in the making, the County Committee mirrors what many other counties throughout NJ already have established – an organization made up of representatives from squadrons throughout the county, which meet together in caucus monthly to administer, guide, and assist their fellow squadrons. The county committee is a key element in the successful operation of the organization, and serves as a conduit of communication between state-level initiatives and priorities and the local squadrons.

The creation of a county organization in Essex is a big deal, as one hasn’t existed in perhaps 20 years. In fact, the only National Commander of the Sons of the American Legion to ever come from New Jersey was from Essex County in 1980 – National Commander Ernest Wilson of Newark’s Squadron 152.

The SAL Essex County Committee is made up of the four active squadrons in the county – Squadron 70 of Nutley, Squadron 73 of East Orange, Squadron 105 of Belleville, and Squadron 185 of Caldwell.

Officers installed that day included County Commander Steve Sangemino (Belleville 105), County Vice Commander Kevin Infield (Nutley 70), County Adjutant Richard Vlasakakis (Belleville 105), and County Sgt-at-Arms Ken Ackerman (Nutley 70). Other officers include County Chaplain Robert K. Krupinski (Nutley 70), who is a dual member and a Marine Corps veteran himself, and Detachment Executive Committeeman James Elsmore (Belleville 105). The current DEC is Rusty Myers, also of Belleville 105, whose term ends in June at which point Elsmore will then serve for the three-year term. Myers also serves as the new County Judge Advocate.

The SAL Committee Chairman appointed by the American Legion Essex County Executive Committee is Henry DelTosto (Nutley 70), an Army veteran, Nutley Post 70 Past Commander, and Adjutant for the American Legion County.