Dutchess County demonstrated its gratitude in both words and deeds to the veterans who have served in America’s wars on Saturday, Nov. 3, as its second annual Veterans Appreciation Day was held at the Henry A. Wallace Center at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library and Home in Hyde Park.
Hundreds of former servicemen and their families who endured conflicts from World War II to Iraq were on hand to hear words of tribute, enjoy refreshments and music, tour the historic site and above all, obtain information on the benefits and services due to them as a result of having discharged their duties to their country.
“This event is marvelous,” said Jacquemae Perrotta, a Korean War era veteran of the Air Force who is active in the American Legion in Poughkeepsie. “It is a wonderful opportunity for veterans to meet each other and learn about the services available to them. There is a real problem with the fact that veterans don’t know the full extent of their entitlements and how to receive them. We at the American Legion are always sending information out, but this is a great way to coordinate things. It is both needed and important,” she said.
The various tables which lined the lobbies of the center certainly demonstrated that the Dutchess County government and the Veterans Service Agency, which co-sponsored the event, had made an attempt to be as comprehensive as possible in considering the veterans’ needs.
The American Red Cross, the New York State Division of Veterans Affairs and Department of Labor, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America as well as the county’s Departments of Health, Social Services and Mental Hygiene displayed numerous brochures and fliers on topics ranging from the Veterans History Project to job opportunities to post-traumatic stress disorder. The various branches of the military had tables as well.
And to demonstrate a hands-on approach to helping vets that went beyond informing them of what could be obtained, there was a flu clinic on hand to give them free shots.
“Anyone, and certainly veterans, who are 50 years of age or older, should get a flu shot,” said Barbara Zelie of the Department of Health. “They can get the flu vaccine through the Veterans Administration, but as the flu season is upon us we want to take this opportunity to make it readily available.”
Ceremony of honor
The afternoon-long event culminated with a medals/awards ceremony that honored seven local veterans of different conflicts, featuring remarks made by prominent county civil servants.
Pfc. John Nagy, Technician Eddie Mosley Jr., and sonar man Victor Sepe, who served in World War II, Sgt. Frank William Munzer, who served in Korea, Master Sgt. Robert Thomas Warner and Specialist Curtis R. Forbes, who served in Vietnam, and Cpl. Jesse Cole Herrmann, who served in Iraq, were awarded multiple distinctions ranging from campaign ribbons to the Bronze Star.
Nagy, who passed away last year, was represented by his widow, Mrs. Annie Nagy of Hopewell Junction.
The officials addressing the veterans touched on aspects of servicepeople’s lives that ranged from the practical to the historical.
“With conflicts ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are a lot of veterans coming in, and there is some difficulty in dealing with them,” said Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-Hudson). “We have all of this information available on services for veterans, things that you’ve earned, things that you deserve. You’ve given everything to us. You know more than anyone what sacrifice is about.”
“These are the men and women who gave so much so that we can live in a free society,” said Nelson Eddy Rivera, a Navy veteran who is the director of the Veterans Sevice Agency. “This event is just one of many initiatives to improve our services to our veterans and keep them informed.”
“Everyone has a different orientation as to when they first started to get a feeling as to what it means to have a family member in the military,” said County Executive William Steinhaus, who went on to relate how as a child he was thrilled by his father’s flying during the era of World War II and the Berlin Blockade that was the first dramatic event of the Cold War.
“My most inspiring moment in my career as a public servant was receiving back the county flag we had given to the 727 Military Police Detachment of the New York National Guard when they deployed to Iraq, upon their return in August,” said Steinhaus. “It was encrusted with sand from a year of flying in the desert, and if that doesn’t connect you with what is going on in the world today, I don’t know what will.”
John Walls, a Navy veteran of Vietnam who had both legs amputated due to wounds he received in that conflict, was happy with the ceremony, but stressed the need to help physically and mentally injured veterans get on with their lives.
“The key is to get veterans to believe there is something to look forward to,” he affirmed. “I myself go fishing and hunting, despite my disability. Hospitals and organizations must assist veterans, so they won’t feel sorry for themselves and go into a corner, feeling that no one cares.”
One of the older veterans on hand, Larry Kozlowski of Hyde Park, who served in the army in the Philippines during World War II, had a special anecdote to pass on as the ceremony transpired before large pictures of Franklin Roosevelt.
“I saw FDR and Eleanor when they drove through Poughkeepsie in 1939 with the king and Queen of Britain,” he beamed. “I watched it all from Pulaski Park, named for the Polish patriot who gave his life for our country during the Revolution. Little did I know that within a few years, I would be part of that tradition of Polish-American service too.”