WESTFIELD, NJ – Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi will offer free photo ID cards to veterans at the Union County Veterans Job Fair and Resource Event on Wednesday, May 23, at the National Guard Armory at 500 Rahway Avenue in Westfield from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is designed to bring veterans together with more than 50 employers and agencies in an effort to network and make connections for new employment opportunities.
“My Office was one of the first in the state nearly ten years ago to issue free honorable discharge identification cards for veterans as proof of service in the U.S. Armed Forces,” Ms. Rajoppi said. “Now the ID cards will include a photograph for the first time, which can make it easier for veterans to access discount programs and other benefits intended just for them. This service is one way to say thank you and make veterans’ lives a little easier.”
The honorable discharge cards are available to veterans whose Certificate of Honorable Discharge and DD 214 forms are recorded at the Union County Clerk’s office. The card will include the book and page number where the veteran’s information is recorded to validate that the card holder is honorably discharged. It can assist veterans in receiving educational benefits, death benefits, licenses, local property tax rebates and discounts at big retailer box stores when presented with other identification.
If a veteran’s discharge papers have never been recorded, the original documents must be presented to the County Clerk at the Veterans Job Fair on May 23 or at either one the County Clerk’s offices along with another form of photo identification. The documents will be recorded in the Union County Veterans’ Index and the original documents will be returned to the veteran. Photocopies of Honorable Discharge or DD 214 documents cannot be accepted for recording.
The County Clerk’s Office in Westfield, located at 300 North Avenue East, is open from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday; and 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturday. The County Clerk’s Office in Elizabeth, located in the Union County Courthouse at 2 Broad Street, is open from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. If additional information is needed, please call 908-659-7403.
For additional information about the Veterans’ Job Fair, please contact Elizabeth Sebring of the Union County Department of Human Services at 908-527-4890 or email: esebring@ucnj.org.
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For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release. Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org, on Facebook at www.ucnj.org/facebook, and on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.