Veterans at the Sayville American Legion have risked their lives for this great country. Yet they have come home and continued to serve our community and their fellow departed Veterans.
About twelve years ago, John St. Lawrence was assigned to his very first job after joining the Legion. He was asked to place flags at the headstone of each Veteran in the cemetery. As John walked the cemetery, he noticed that the distinguishing marks for some Veterans were sinking into the ground and some names that he knew had served, were not distinguished at all.
John then tasked himself with the mission to recognize each and every Veteran buried in Saint Ann’s Cemetery or Union Cemetery in Sayville who has departed. No matter what branch they’ve served or how long they’ve served for, John – a Veteran himself – ensures that in death, these men and women are given the honor they so rightfully deserve.
With the help of his wife, who has a great passion for genealogy, John has spent thousands of hours over twelve years doing research to find every Veteran’s name.
He’s used resources like ancestry.com, which allowed him to find Veterans through family members and relatives as well as many trips to the library.
“To actually sit down at the library like I used to do, I’d read the Suffolk County news on Microfilm for hours, just looking at obituaries,” said John. The work put into this project by John, his wife, and additional members of the Legion like Commander Steve, is overwhelming.
Now, after twelve years of working hard, John has found and honored over 600 Veterans between Saint Ann’s and Union cemeteries that were not recognized as Veterans, distinguishing them with a silver medallion designed by John. Some of these buried Veterans date back to the Cold War, others are recently departed. The very idea that there have been over 600 of our local Veterans laying without their proper recognition and honor is upsetting for our community, however we are happy to know that they are getting what they so greatly deserve.
Throughout this process, John has established working relationships with Raynor & D’Andrea Funeral Home and other homes in Sayville, local cemetery workers, and community members to ensure no Veteran goes unnoticed. When these organizations hold a funeral for a departed Veteran, they let John know almost immediately, so that he can honor them in the proper way.
“Now the research is done, we don’t do any more research. Now, we depend on [funeral homes], cemetery managers to let me know if one of the people they’ve just buried is a Veteran,” explains John.
Now, John is building his team of post historians with Sayville Legion Post 651 members Joe Gallo and Mike Takis. Together, they will continue to honor their fellow Veterans by recognizing their bravery and fortitude.
“This is John’s baby, him and Steve put this together,” says Gallo. “It’s the least we can do for these guys who died for their country or served their country. You have to honor the past as well.”
“Joe Gallo and Mike Takis volunteered to see what it’s all about, how it works,” John says, explaining why the project needs some extra hands. “I just needed someone to back me up. There just wasn’t anyone who knew enough to take it over if necessary.”
Joe is excited and proud to get involved with this project, as it hits close to home for him and his family. “To me, every male in my family, my grandfathers, myself, my brother, my cousins, we all served. We all joined for different reasons, but to me, it’s an honor to be recognizing these local people,” Gallo tells The Messenger. “When you sign onto that line, you’re paying a price up to your life. And now, it’s mainly voluntarily, which is a whole different ball game. But we have a lot to be thankful for and we should be paying our respects to these people who came before us.”
Each Veterans Day and Memorial Day, members of Post 651, along with community members and volunteers gather together at Saint Ann’s and Union Cemeteries to place flags at every departed Veterans gravestone using detailed maps that John has created ensuring nobody is missed, bringing this whole project full circle to John’s first experience at the American Legion.
“We’d like to pass it on to some younger guys, and if there are any younger guys out there who would like to join the American Legion, there is a place to come here for you to sit with other Veterans and need to talk or discuss something that you can’t really discuss with someone who doesn’t know,” says Gallo.
Sayville American Legion Post 651 will be celebrating Veterans Day this Saturday at Sparrow Park in Sayville, across from their Post, in addition to placing flags at Saint Ann’s and Union Cemeteries.
If you know a Veteran who was laid to rest in these two Sayville Cemeteries who is not recognized at their gravestone, reach out to Post 651 here.
If you are a Veteran interested in joining the Sayville American Legion Post, visit their website here.
