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USAF Staff Sgt. William Tjaden
William Tjaden will receive his medals from Schroeder at a special ceremony tonight in Oakland, where he lives with his wife and served four years as president of the local volunteer firefighters association.
Schroeder will also give him two state legislative citations, one from him and the other from Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk, as well as a Congressional Certificate of Recognition sent by Congressman Scott Garrett.
“I was awarded these medals a few years ago. I couldn’t make it to the presentation ceremony at Paramus Park and was told that they’d mail them to me,” Tjaden told CLIFFVIEW PILOT late last month. “Never got them.
“I wouldn’t know who to talk to,” Tjaden said at the time. “After waiting for several months, I sent an email to the Veteran’s Administration but never heard from them again.”
Schroeder’s legislative aide, Lisa Volpe Yakomin, was alerted. She immediately contacted The New Jersey Department of Military and Veteran Affairs — and, soon afterward, collected the medals.
“I’m amazed that Mr Schroeder’s office was able to do in a couple of days what I couldn’t do in a few years,” Tjaden told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “I’m very grateful.”
WHEN: 7:30 pm Wed., June 22
WHERE: Oakland Municipal Courtroom, 10 Lawlor Drive
(Vandervalk will be in Woodcliff Lake at a similar event honoring Fred Singer’s service to the community. Singer, who served in World War II and the Korean War, is a former School Board president and councilman, a longtime member of the Planning Board, and a 48-year resident of the township.)
Tjaden, who has three adult children and two grandchildren, was born in Passaic and lived in Clifton and Fair Lawn before his parents settled in Mahwah.
He joined the U.S. Air Force while still in high school as part of the Delayed Enlistment Program. After graduating from Mahwah High School in 1968, he began basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.
He served as an Administrative Specialist at Lockbourne AFB in Columbus, Ohio and at Myrtle Beach AFB in South Carolina – from where the 353rd Tactical Fighter Squadron was sent to Korat Royal Thai AFB in Thailand to provide air support for ground troops in Vietnam.
The government awarded Tjaden the Vietnam Service Medal and The Republic of Vietnam Commendation Medal. His unit also received the Presidential Unit Citation for its service in Southeast Asia.
Bill was honorably discharged from the Air Force with the rank of Staff Sergeant in February 1973. He eventually settled in Oakland in 1980 with his wife, Valerie, and raised two children, Mike and Rebecca. He joined the Oakland Fire Department in 1995 and served three years as Company 1’s fire mechanic.
Dealing with health problems, Tjaden last fall “retired” from the Oakland department, changing his status to “Active Life Member.” Uneasiness continued into April, when the Russ Berrie Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection, costing Valerie Tjaden her job.
But the couple got good news — first with word that the medals were on their way and then when test results showed that the removal of a tumor in March likely saved Tjaden’s life.
Tjaden is still behind the wheel of a truck, his livelihood the past 35 years. When time allows, he visits various web sites and critiques news items of interest.
He has also written some well-received columns for CLIFFVIEW PILOT, each delivered with humor while tugging at the heartstrings — a perfect reflection of a droll wit that, try as Bill might, cannot mask a sensitive side.
They’re called “Somewhat Tjaded” (CLICK ON HEADLINES TO READ):
Chef of the futile
Back in the 90’s my wife decided to go back to school at night to get her BA in Business Management. Our children were still young and she asked if I would be willing to get dinner ready for them on the nights she would not be home. Uh-oh.
Loaded for bobcat
Newt Wilson lived outside Clearwater, Florida. It was 1958, and, although he spent more than 20 years as a house painter, he hated it. Still. it paid the bills and allowed him to pursue his one true love — fishing — while affording him time for his second-favorite activity: telling tales of bygone days. I remember one yarn, in particular, about a bobcat who ran wild in the neighboohood — until Newt and his posse got on its tail.
A hero takes his turn
Ordinary citizens who do their jobs every day are the backbone of our society. But every so often, a regular working stiff goes above and beyond and, without ever knowing it, enters the realm of the heroic.
Make room for Daddy
I’ve heard it said that the relationship between a father and his son never ends — not even after the son is an adult and the father is dead and gone. That may help to explain why you see so many middle-aged men walking around talking to themselves. They’re still arguing with their dads.
Top 10 things I learned while on unemployment
EDITOR’S NOTE: It was only a short time ago that Bill Tjaden was coping with unemployment. But we’re concerned he might have ended up spending too much time by himself. Here’s proof….
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