How to help a hero

On Memorial Day, the communities of Lynbrook and East Rockaway each honored the U.S. service men and women who lost their lives while fighting for their country _ but for the veterans who fought side-by-side with those fallen service men and women, their next challenge is often life after war.

The Lynbrook/East Rockaway Rotary will be hosting a movie screening in conjunction with Operation Initiative — a community project through Rotary District 7250 that provides veterans with a resource manual upon their return home — for two nights in Lynbrook on June 4 and 7, respectively.

The movie, “Flag of my Father,” deals with the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder, which afflicts a large number of veterans when they return from war. Tickets are currently on sale for $10, and half of the money raised will go directly toward the Operation Initiative. The June 4 show will be held in the Lynbrook High School Auditorium and the June 7 show will take place in the Lynbrook United Artists Theatre. Both shows begin at 7 p.m.

Lou Falco, chairman of Operation Initiative and of Rotary District 7250, said he is expecting a big crowd for the screenings and would like to a sellout both nights. Falco started Operation Initiative with Katherine Gibson — who serves as the editor-in-chief— a little more than a year ago after he wrote a poem entitled “A Soldier’s Faith” in 2007.

Falco said he had George M. Cohan’s song “Over There” in his head while writing his poem, which, Falco added, lifted the nation’s spirits during World War I and II.

“That was the last time we had that kind of spirit dcor in this country,” Falco said, “and what we’re trying to do is have history repeat itself one more time. If they can understand the soldiers’ plight, which is in the poem, they’ll know that it’s a cry for them not to make the same mistake twice like they did in Vietnam. We must embrace our veterans, bring them back into the fold because if we don’t the terrorists have won.”