Thursday, October 1, 2026
Two local veterans, Herbert Siegel and Gerald Love, were honored on Nov. 8 at The Bristal of North Woodmere in a special ceremony marking Veterans Day.
Herbert Siegel, 90, a Long Beach resident, served as a security agent and lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Mackenzie Wolfson, social media coordinator of the Bristal wrote in a release.
A member of military intelligence, Siegel worked on top-secret assignments in Germany, France, Italy, and New England, tracking enemy movements.
Gerald Love, 97, a longtime Woodmere resident, was honored for his service as a corporal during World War II. Love, however, is most proud of his post-war work as a counterintelligence investigator, Wolfson wrote.
He learned Japanese through an immersion program at the University of Chicago and was tasked with identifying Japanese civilians loyal to the Emperor, who could pose a threat to U.S. security. Love describes the assignment as “exciting” and recalls the time he and his colleagues spent living undercover, without military uniforms, which he says felt like something out of a Hollywood movie, Wolfson wrote.
Love later became a science teacher and administrator in several Long Island school districts, including Great Neck and Seaford, and was able to attend college thanks to the G.I. Bill.
The facility hosted a lunch for the two veterans and others living at the Bristal, with music, speeches and patriotic decor.
