Photo credit: Matt Meduri
The Long Island State Veterans Home is a short-term, 350-bed rehabilitation facility located in Stony Brook. Committed to caring for American heroes, the home’s mission statement reads: “Serving those who served through skilled nursing care, adult day health care, and short-term rehabilitation.”
The home held their annual Memorial Day ceremony at the Stony Brook facility last Friday.
The Invocation was read by Rabbi Joseph Topek, Jewish Chaplain for the home. Colors were posted and retired by the Marine Corps League East End Detachment #642, commanded by Richard Westhoff.
“Memorial Day is our time to remember our fellow citizens who have sacrificed their lives in the service of our country, our democracy, and our freedom,” said Rabbi Topek. “Our citizens have responded to the call to defend our nation since its inception. Americans of all walks of life, of all ethnic, cultural, and religious traditions, from every corner of our land, come together and form our Armed Forces. Together, they represent the cherished values of our nation, so well-defined by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the four freedoms, freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Those who have been lost in the fight for these ideals have, in the words of President Abraham Lincoln, made a costly sacrifice on the altar of freedom.
Robert Murphy, a Marine Corps and Korean War Veteran and resident of the home, led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. Attendees were then treated to a rendition of the National Anthem by Jim Papa.
“President John F. Kennedy once said that a nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers,” said Long Island State Veterans Home Executive Director Fred Sganga. “Every minute of every hour of every day, Americans enjoy the blessings of a peace-loving nation. For more than two centuries, untold numbers of Americans have answered the call to duty. Freedom is our cause, but freedom does not come free, and many have paid the ultimate price. The America we know would not be the same if it were not for the men and women we honor this weekend on Memorial Day weekend. Today’s ceremony allows us to pay homage to all the courageous women and men who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedoms we so dearly cherish. Memorial Day is a special holiday, a single day during which we honor the spirit of all those who died in service to our nation, but whom we continue to remember and honor in our hearts.”
William Wertheim, Interim Executive Vice President of Stony Brook Medicine, said that this year’s ceremony commemorates the eightieth anniversary of D-Day.
“On June 6, 1944, 2,501 brave American soldiers gave their lives to secure our freedom. This pivotal moment in history, which is only one of many that our armed services fought, is a testament to the courage and dedication of those who fought for our country,” said Wertheim. “To me, this is personal. My grandfather was a Marine serving World War I, and my father was in the US Navy, and their experiences have profoundly influenced me.”
Robert Smith, Chairman of the Long Island State Veterans Home Veterans Advisory Board, highlighted the oft-forgotten differences between Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
“There’s a difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Veterans Day, we go around, we shake hands, we touch each other, we say happy Veterans Day.
We don’t go up to a Veteran today and say happy Memorial Day. It’s a somber day, it’s a day of remembrance,” said Smith. “We’ve all lost someone near and dear to our heart. It’s Memorial Day and we remember them today. They all put a military uniform on, served, and have fallen from our ranks. But Veterans don’t forget every day. Every day you get up, you think of that friend, or that mate, or that soldier, who was with you and didn’t come back.”
Congressman Nick LaLota (R, NY-01), a Navy Veteran (pictured above), was the ceremony’s keynote speaker.
“It’s a privilege for me to address this incredible group, not only as your Congressman, but as the grandson of a Coast Guard, and then the stepson of a Navy man, your brother, a Marine, and a Navy man myself. I truly understand the sacrifices that those who have worn the uniform and their families have made,” said LaLota.
LaLota said that the day before, he and sixteen other members of Congress who had previously worn the uniform washed the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial wall in Washington. The bipartisan display is a yearly tradition, one that LaLota said will allow the memorial to be clean for “tens of thousands” of visitors over the holiday weekend.
“We think it’s important to do, to honor the 58,000 plus who never made it home, 33,000 of whom were ages 18. To put that in perspective, the sacrifice made not only by so many, but those who are so young,” said LaLota. “The Gold Star families, especially their strength and resilience, remind us of the deep personal cost of the war and the enduring impact of our nation’s leaders’ decisions when we have decided to send young men and women into battle. We will never take that for granted, and we shouldn’t.”
LaLota says that his service across twenty countries, notably in the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan, reaffirmed his belief that the United States is the “greatest nation the world has ever known.”
“That’s a bold assertion, there’s 195 countries in the world, and we commonly believe, rightfully so, that we are the greatest nation the world has ever known. And it’s not just because we have the biggest military and the biggest economy. It’s because we have used those strengths of ours, and we’ve used them for good and against evil.”
LaLota also said that the United States has “provided more freedom and opportunity to more people throughout the world in their own countries than any other nation in history.” He listed three reasons as to why he believes the U.S. is the most “exceptional nation.” First, he said that the governmental structure of a constitutional republic mixed with capitalism gives power to “we the people.” His second reason is the United States’ geographic position.
“We have oceans that separate us from our adversaries and God has blessed us with natural resources that have made us a strong nation as well,” he said.
However, he said the third reason pales in comparison to the former two: the men and women who answer the call to serve their country.
LaLota’s remarks were followed by musical interlude of “America the Beautiful,” a reading of the poem “In Flanders Fields,” read by home resident and Korean War Veteran Lou Maters, and the wreath-laying ceremony and three-volley salute.
The wreath was laid outside at the memorial statue by Theresa Vereline (pictured above), an Army Veteran and resident of the home. After the salute, “Taps” was played by Gregory Effimetz (pictured below) of the East End Detachment #642.
The ceremony concluded with the retiring of the colors and a group recitation of “God Bless America.”
Present were County Legislators Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset), Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon), and the Chair and Vice Chair of the Veterans Committee, respectively, Nick Caracappa (C-Selden) and Chad Lennon (R-Rocky Point). In attendance also were Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy (R-Nesconset) and New York Senators Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk), and Mario Mattera (R-St. James).
