Legion member gives back to fellow veterans

For Ed Nachreiner, being a member of the American Legion is a way of giving back to those who have served in the U.S. armed forces. Nachreiner, an Army veteran himself, is the sergeant at arms for Andrew Fatscher Post No. 854 on Roosevelt Avenue.

He got involved with the American Legion in 2005. Nachreiner and his fellow legionnaires have visited the Veterans Administration hospital in Northport to host A Day at the Races. They show the veterans old horse races and give them a few dollars to bet with. “It’s something they get excited about,” he said.

On Memorial Day he takes part in the village parade and places flags at the gravesites of veterans at Greenfield Cemetery in Hempstead. It’s a large cemetery, Nachreiner said, and the maps aren’t always accurate, so he and his fellow legion members often spend hours trying to find the graves.

One year, Nachreiner said, he came across the grave of a Civil War veteran who fought for the Confederacy. “We put an American flag on it; he was a veteran,” Nachreiner said. “I wish I wrote down his name because I would love to have researched and found out his story.”

Post 854 also hosts a party twice a year for the Town of Hempstead’s Anchor program, which provides recreational activities for disabled citizens. Nachreiner and the legion members help set up, serve food and assist the guests.

Nachreiner joined the Army in July 1980 and completed his basic training at Fort Dix, N.J. He went on to Fort Lee, Va., for advanced training, and was then stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, for five years before moving on to Fort Irwin, Calif., in the middle of the desert. “I went from the Arctic to the Mojave,” he said.

After getting out of the service in 1986, Nachreiner stayed in the Army reserves and was stationed at Fort Totten, Queens, until 1994. He was then transferred to the 1179th Deployment Support Brigade at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn.