Wesley V. Banse Sr., 91, Army officer

Wesley Vernon Banse Sr., 91, formerly of Manasquan, N.J., an Army officer who trained New Jersey National Guard soldiers for 28 years, died of complications of Parkinson's disease Friday, Oct. 22, at the Fountains at the Albemarle in Tarboro, N.C.

Mr. Banse trained the National Guard at the Camden Armory for 18 years and then at the former New Jersey Military Academy in Sea Girt, Monmouth County, for 10 years.

In 1953, he told students at Haddonfield High School that every man had a basic obligation to his country of eight years of military service - at least two in active service, with three in active reserve and the rest inactive, subject to call in event of war.

Mr. Banse was commandant of the Sea Girt facility when he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1975.

He was born in Camden and graduated from Long Branch High School. In 1940, he enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Delaware. He and his future wife, Grace Fortune, met at Frances Childs United Methodist Church in Collingswood, where his father was the pastor.

They married in 1941, before he shipped overseas. During World War II, he served in France, Belgium, and Germany as a master sergeant and aided refugees at the end of the war.

When he returned to the United States, Mr. Banse joined the Army National Guard. He completed officers' training at Fort Knox, Ky., and additional training at other Army bases around the country.

He earned an associate degree in journalism from Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, N.J., in 1976. After retiring from the National Guard, he was a reporter and administrator for the Coast Star in Manasquan for 20 years.

He was a founding member of the Squan Village Historical Society; served on the Manasquan Centennial Celebration Committee; and edited a 300-page illustrated history of the town.

He became a noted collector of Jersey Shore history, said his daughter, Carole Banse-Doyon, and developed a slide presentation on the history of Monmouth County seacoast towns, which he showed to children's and adult groups.

In 2001, Mr. Banse received the Jane G. Clayton Award for his contribution to the preservation of Monmouth County history.

Mr. Banse lived in Magnolia and Manasquan before moving to Scotland Neck, N.C., in 2002.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by a son, Glen; a brother; six grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. His wife died in 1998. A son, Wesley Jr., died in 2007.

A graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, at Atlantic View Cemetery, Church Street, Manasquan.