Thursday, October 1, 2026
On the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour, veterans and their families gathered at Andrew J. Parise Park in Cedarhurst, for the annual Veterans Day ceremony.
Originally, called Armistice Day, it marked the end of World War I in 1918 when the Armistice in Germany went into effect. Now Veterans Day commemorates all military personnel who served.
The ceremony takes places in Andrew J. Parise Park home to the Memorial Plaza honoring those fallen in service, and celebrating its namesake, Mayor Andrew Parise, a World War II Veteran who helped liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany.
Syd Mandelbaum, commander of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst American Legion Post 339, led the ceremonies and welcomed all the veterans, village officials and Frank Santora, commander of John J. Oliveri VFW 1582.
This is the first year that VFW 1582 joined the Cedarhurst Veterans Day celebration.
“Veterans Day has always been an important part of my family as both my parents are Holocaust survivors and had D-Day not happen, I wouldn’t be here,” Mandelbaum said.
Mandelbaum said his appreciation and love for America runs deep and because of those who helped liberate the concentration camps.
“I can’t say enough that I only hope that our world will be a world of much more peace as we go into the future,” he said.
First Vice Commander of Post 339 Marianela Lizana Plaza, led The Pledge of Allegiance and the Lawrence High School vocal ensemble sang the national anthem.
Rev. Tom Costello of the Roman Catholic Parishes of the Five Towns gave an invocation to the large crowd.
“We gather this morning as a grateful nation and community, as we take time out of our busy day to honor our veterans, the brave men and women who come from all walks of life,” Costello said. “We say thank you to them for answering the call to serve and protect our country, who offered their lives in exchange for our freedom. When our country called, they answered.”
Costello said a prayer for all soldiers, whether they are a veteran, currently fighting, hurt or missing in action.
“We pray that you bless our veterans for their unselfish service, bless them abundantly for the hardships they face, sacrifices they made, we pray that we may see the day that war and fear of war shall be no more,” Costello said.
His invocation was met with a chorus of “amen,” from all.
Cedarhurst Mayor Benjamin Weinstock addressed the crowd while competing with the sound of planes, trains and wind,
“Today, Veterans Day is a day to honor and thank our nation’s veterans, it’s a day of celebration and we’ve gathered here for that purpose,” Weinstock said. “It would be remiss on my part if we didn’t take a moment of silence to remember the veterans who are no longer with us.”
Weinstock added that the veterans, who fought in World War II, are apart of America’s greatest generations, which are slowly diminishing.
“As of the end of last year, there were approximately 119, 500 World War II veterans still with us,” Weinstock added. “That represents just one percent of the 16.5 million men and women who served in the United States. Unfortunately, it’s a generation that we won’t be able to enjoy much longer.”
