The Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders will honor the county’s war veterans with an outdoor ceremony at the Warren County War Memorial next to the Courthouse in Belvidere on Saturday, May 6.

The 11 a.m. program will be the 14th major ceremony to present the Warren County Distinguished Military Service Medal since the veterans recognition program began in late 2003. Applications for recognition at the May 6 ceremony are being accepted until April 21.

An application and list of eligibility requirements is available by contacting the Warren County Public Information Department at 908-475-6580 or 800-554-8540, or on the County government website at www.co.warren.nj.us/veterans.html.

Participating veterans will receive the medal, a commemorative lapel pin and a certificate from Freeholders Richard D. Gardner, Edward J. Smith and Jason J. Sarnoski.

Current and former county residents, living or deceased, are eligible for the recognition, provided they served honorably during one of the recognized wartime periods from World War I through the present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. For peace-keeping missions and conflicts other than the two World Wars, Korea and Vietnam, the veteran must have served on active duty in the geographic area or on a ship patrolling the territorial waters of the nation.

The veteran must have been a Warren County resident at the time he or she entered the service, or be a current resident of Warren County. In the case of posthumous recognition, the veteran must have been a County resident either when he or she entered the service or at the time of his or her death. Proof of service, such as a DD 214, is required.

About 2,100 current and former county residents have been awarded the medal since the freeholders launched the program in December 2003 by honoring Julius Hausold, the county’s last surviving World War I veteran, several months before Hausold died at the age of 108.

The Warren County War Memorial Corp. and the county Public Information department are conducting the Veterans Recognition Program for the freeholders by accepting and reviewing the applications and contacting the veterans who have been deemed eligible to receive the award.