NORTHJERSEY . COM | WEDNESDAY , NOVEMBER 11 , 2020 | 1
“ Word to the Nation : Guard zealously your right to serve in the Armed Forces , for without them , there will be no other rights to guard .”
PRESIDENT AND U . S . NAVY VETERAN
In New Jersey CITIZEN SOLDIERS HONORED AT THE NATIONAL GUARD MILITIA MUSEUM
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO
JOHN F . KENNEDY
TRIBUTE TO
O O O
O O O
VETERANS
DAV PROVIDES A CENTURY OF CARE FOR DISABLED VETERANS
NOVEMBER 11 , 2020
PHOTO COURTESY OF CSM ERNEST WILLIAMS JR .
Command Sergeant Major Ernest Williams Jr . of the New Jersey Army National Guard is a graduate of Paterson and Passaic County schools . He often returns to North Jersey to speak with students about career choices and his experience during his 35-year career in the military .
Be All You Can Be Top Sergeant Is Proud To Be Career Soldier
By JAMES EMOLO Tribute to Veterans
Fresh out of high school in 1985 ,
18-year-old Earnest Williams Jr . wasn ’ t sure what to do next in his young life or in what direction to go . Partying like a rock star that summer didn ’ t present much of a future and the Paterson neighborhood where he lived posed risks to his health and safety .
But he was luckier than many of his friends . After demonstrating his prowess on the basketball court and in track and field at Passaic County Technical Institute ( PCTI ) for four years , Williams earned a partial athletic scholarship to attend college in Virginia that fall . But , it was not to be .
“ In my senior year , I was fully involved in sports and working , and quite a few other things ,” says Williams . “ But before college started , I realized I wanted to do something different . I didn ’ t know if school was going to be the way for me .”
Clarity would come , though , when he and his friend Gary saw a recruiting commercial for the Army on TV . The slogan was “ Be All You Can Be .”
“ At that moment , we decided to go downtown to the Post Office where the recruiters were , and the first door we came to was the Army ,” says Williams . “ They separated us and gave us a bunch of tests … I did pretty well . But when I finished , Gary was gone . He later told me that he couldn ’ t get in because he didn ’ t have a GED … and I told him I was set to leave for the Army in two weeks .”
Responding to the Army ’ s recruiting slogan at the time proved fortuitous for Williams who recently marked his 35 th anniversary of serving in the U . S . Army and the New Jersey National Guard . But it wasn ’ t completely by chance that he enlisted in the military on September 2 , 1985 . He remembers , as a kid , seeing his uncle , who served in Vietnam , in uniform and how it impressed him , and he recalls his 5 th -grade
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