Nassau County hosts veterans parade, ceremony in Lynbrook

A tribute to Vietnam vets

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The Nassau County Veterans Service Agency, along with County Executive Edward Mangano held its annual Nassau County Veterans Day Parade last Saturday in Lynbrook.

This year’s event included a special tribute to all veterans who served during the Vietnam War. The parade kicked off at 10 a.m. at the VFW Hall, 235 Merrick Rd. in Lynbrook.

“I invited residents … as we thank our veterans, wave American flags along the parade route, and celebrate the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces who served to protect our freedoms and democracy,” Mangano said.

Out of the three million Vietnam veterans who served “in country,” there are currently “less than 600,000 alive because of the effects of Agent Orange,” Frank Colon Jr, past County Commander of the Nassau County American Legion said.

The parade included a convoy of military trucks and tanks, The American Legion County and post, VFW County and post, and Korean War, Vietnam War, Catholic War, and Jewish War veterans.

All County veterans’ groups, auxiliary units and color guards were invited to participate in the parade. Refreshments were served afterward.

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Help for Disadvantaged Veterans available

By Laura Schofer

A Stand Down to clothe and feed disadvantaged veterans will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at the Freeport Armory, 63 Babylon Turnpike in Freeport from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Veterans will receive assistance with securing entitled benefits, job counseling and legal advice. Clothes and food donated from the community will be available to veterans as well as a hot meal and a hot shower. Veterans can receive haircuts, medical screenings, enrollment in Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system and dental cleaning offered by Dental on the Go.

“We want to get veterans off the streets,” Frank Colon Jr., past president of United Veterans Organization [UVO] of Nassau County said. UVO, along with the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency are hosting this event. Colon is also past County Commander of the Nassau County American Legion. “Our veterans need help,” he said. “We have the most veterans per capita in the United States.” According to Colon there are 80,000 veterans in Nassau County and 105,00 veterans in Suffolk County. “We have to pay special attention to our young veterans,” Colon said. “They are committing suicide at a rate of 22 per day, nationwide.”

The Stand-down, now in its 25th year, provides services to “about 300 veterans,” he said. Representatives from Nassau County government agencies will be participating and include the Department of Social Services, Health and Human Services as well as The Salvation Army, the New York State Department of Labor, the Department of Veterans Affairs, New York State Division of Veterans Affairs and The Red Cross.