The latest news of the Hauppauge Veterans Memorial finding a permanent home in Blydenburgh Park is a testament to tenacity of our local leaders and the justly-deserved recognition and honor to a group of proud Americans who were so callously robbed of such distinction for their sacrifices.
Kevin O’Hare, President of the Suffolk County Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association (SCCPAA), has worked tirelessly for over twenty years to keep the monument in a state of repair and find a permanent place for it.
With long-term help from partners such as then-County Legislator, now-County Comptroller John Kennedy (R-Nesconset), current Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset), and now Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R-Kings Park), O’Hare was able to deliver a beautiful final product, with help from the Suffolk County Parks Department, a selfless Eagle Scout, and an anonymous donor of the pavement on which the monument rests.
We find these acts to be as selfless as they are admirable, and we hope to see more of such partnerships and impetus across our county in the future.
What’s better is that Vietnam Veterans are still earning the recognition they should have received decades ago. Wars can be controversial, but service and sacrifice in such a way are never illegitimate. Our Armed Forces and the brave men and women who compose them are owed the highest respect and dignity, and to remember just how wronged they were upon their return home should set an important precedent to never let such a lapse in judgment spread across our country again.
While no wrongs are being alleged in the saga of the Hauppauge monument, it’s only fitting that the monument finds a home for those who are customarily greeted with a “welcome home.”
So, welcome home, indeed, to the Hauppauge monument, and to all of our armed service members, particularly those who sacrificed in Vietnam, God bless, thank you, and welcome home.
