HONORING THE FALLEN, ONE OF THEM OUR OWN — Hudson County's annual observance of Memorial Day will take place Thursday, May 24 at 11:00 a.m. at the county veterans plot in Holy Name Cemetery, 823 West Side Avenue, Jersey City. Attendees will include veterans’ organizations and their color guards from around the county; and the participation of ROTC students from both McNair Academy and Lincoln High School. Surrogate Donald DeLeo will serve as the program's Master of Ceremonies. It is sponsored by County Executive Tom DeGise and the Board of Chosen Freeholders. A special tribute will be paid to Army Spc. Rafael A. Nieves Jr., who was killed recently while in action in the Paktika Province of Afghanistan. The 22 year-old army specialist, who grew up in Jersey City and Bayonne, was just two weeks short of completing his first tour of duty and returning home to his wife and two children, when his  patrol came under attack. He served as a member of the Lincoln High School ROTC Corps of Cadets and took part in past Hudson County Memorial Day Observances.