In mid-2006, seven street names in the new residential development at City Homes At Essex Park were renamed to honor veterans and four of the Belleville heroes who died while in service.
On behalf of the families of the honored soldiers and all the Belleville Sons who perished to pay for our freedom, we'd like to thank former Mayor Gerald DiGori, former Councilman Louis Pallante and former Township Manager Mauro G. Tucci for their efforts in naming these streets to honor the sacrifice of these men and all other veterans.
Earlier this year, Tucci notified Centex that in accordance with the Developers Agreement, the town had the right to name the streets and was excercising that right.
Old Name ..... New Name .... Named For
Rebecca Court - Hamilton Street - William Hamilton
Alexander* Court - Cunningham Court - Clatie Cunningham Jr.
Valerie Court - De Luca Road - Raymond De Luca
Kelly Court - Olivio* Drive - Carmine E. Olivo
Grace Court - Memorial Drive
Tami Court - Hero Way
April Court - Freedom Lane
*Alexandra
*Olivo
Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.
Belleville Sons Honor Roll
Original Centex Map
Township of Belleville
New Essex Park Map
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Belleville renames streets in new development for war casualties
Belleville, N.J. -- In mid-2006, six street names in the new residential development at City Homes At Essex Park were renamed to honor veterans and four of the Belleville heroes who died while in service.
Streets were named for Raymond De Luca, Carmine Olivo, Clatie Cunningham Jr. and William Hamilton.
Army Spec. 4 Raymond P. De Luca, of Meacham Street, died June 27, 1968, as a result of wounds in a firefight in Vietnam.
De Luca attended Essex Catholic High School, Newark, where he graduated as an honor student in 1966.
He was trained as a medic at Ft. Sam Houston in Texas, he was attached to Company C, Ninth Medical Battalion, 9th Infantry.
Sgt. Carmen Olivo, 29, of Magnolia Street, was killed when his ship was sunk in the English Channel during the invasion of Normandy, France. He is listed as killed in action on June 9, 1944.
Three Belleville sons, Sgt. Edward Henris, Staff Sgt. Arthur Burke and Sgt. Olivo were likely to have perished on the same ship as all three served in 3422nd Ordnance Automotive Maintenance Company.
The families were notified in July, November and December 1944, respectively.
Staff Sergeant Clatie Ray Cunningham Jr., was killed in action on a mission over the Mekong River in French Indo-China, or Vietnam, on July 23, 1945.
Cunningham Jr., 23, was survived by his wife Alice Sylvia, of Stephens Street, Belleville, and twin sons Clatie III and John W, born June 5, 1945, in Glen Ridge, N.J., whom he never saw.
Sgt. William Hamilton was killed in action in Germany on April 2, 1945. He served with the 7th Army.
Hamilton grew up in Newark but lived on Arthur Street for years before he entered the service in 1942.
Former Belleville Mayor Gerald DiGori, former Councilman Louis Pallante and former Township Manager Mauro G. Tucci worked with Centex, the developer of the site on Franklin Avenue near the former Essex County Isolation Hospital.
The street name changes, which also include Memorial Drive, Hero Way and Freedom Lane, were ordered earlier this year, and upon coordination with the U.S. Postal Service, went into effect recently.
The stories of the 153 soldiers from Belleville who died while in service were collected in a paperback "Belleville Sons Honor Roll - Remembering the Men Who Paid for Our Freedom" was compiled by Anthony Buccino and his daughter Andrea.
Former Belleville Fire Cheif George Sbarra also contributed to the research.
For more information, visit http://www.bellevillesons.com/belindex.html
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