Prepping to honor young veterans

Glenwood Landing American Legion Post 336 to recognize war on terror heroes

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According to Arnold Sabino, house chairman of Glenwood Landing American Legion Post 336, the group is growing older, while its ranks have diminished. To attract new members, Post 336 will host “A Salute to Our Veterans” on Nov. 3 to recognize younger veterans who are now serving or have served during the global war on terror. The post’s Let Us Remember Committee met on Sept. 16 to discuss its plans for the event.

“This event is all about bringing change to the American Legion through our younger veterans,” Sabino said. “We also want them to know that as older veterans, we’re here for them.”

“There’s a lot of things that the legion does to help out its local community and our veterans,” said Robert Bazan, who served several tours in the military from 1987 to 2007. “We have a great organization that finds different ways to connect to our fellow veterans.”

Bazan, who was announced as the guest speaker, said that when he returned to the U.S. in 2008 after serving as a senior Navy mentor in Afghanistan, he thought that it was an important time to give back to the community.

“I wanted to help reinvigorate this organization,” he said, “and having the camaraderie of veterans is always a nice thing to be around.”

Sabino, who will serve as emcee at the event, said that even though this is the first time he has put together a special event such as this, it’s just the beginning. “I’m learning a lot from this group, and we hope that our message spreads all throughout our community,” he said. “I thank God that this committee is here to help.”

Sabino added that Village of Manorhaven Mayor Jim Avena plans to donate $1,000 to the post. Moving forward, Avena said, he hopes to make an annual donation of $10,000 through the Peter & Jeri Dejana Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that assists other nonprofits in expanding programs and services.

“I have to thank County Legislator Delia DeRigg-Whitton for this simply because of her association with [Avena], and she’s helped him with other initiatives in the past,” Sabino said.

Rosemarie Kluepfel, a military mortgage specialist, said that while donations are important, the committee must focus on its primary task. “This event is about building the camaraderie of veterans in the community,” she said. “Whatever money we make is just extra.”

Virginia Cervasio — a committee member who recently formed a nonprofit organization called Heroes Among Us — said the committee is responsible for putting the community’s veterans first.

“You do it because it’s needed,” Cervasio said. “Our job is to protect our veterans and help them in the areas where they can’t get help anywhere else. That’s our main job.”

Veterans will be invited free of charge for dinner, dancing and music by teen vocalists Katie Zimmer and Lennon Ashton. A DD-214 or a current military ID card is required for admission. RSVPs are requested by Oct. 20 to Commander William Laderer, at (516) 676-7158 or wjladerer@gmail.com.

“We have a venue for this event, we’re set with our agenda, and we have food and entertainment,” said committee member Steve Warshaw. “We just need people to come out and show their support.”