Sunday, November 15, 2026
Woodmere resident Scott Beauchamp was among 13 veterans honored by Assemblywoman Judy Griffin at her annual Veterans Hall of Honor ceremony Oct. 18, recognizing his military service and community impact.
Beauchamp, 57, graduated from Hewlett High School in 1987 and played football, basketball and field events on the track team. Shortly afterward, Beauchamp enlisted in the U.S Army, fulfilling his goal to serve his country.
His father, Charles Beauchamp, served in the Navy and his stepbrother, Rin Musser, 73, the Marine Corps.
“Pretty much everybody in my family has [served],” he said. “My father was in the Navy in World War II. Pretty much all my uncles were Air Force,Navy and Marine Corps — it was something I always wanted to do.”
Beauchamp completed a three-year commitment before being honorably discharged.
In 1990, Beauchamp joined the National Guard and completed two deployments to Afghanistan, in 2004 and 2010. In December 2010, while traveling in a military convoy, Beauchamp was injured by an improvised explosive device that detonated near his vehicle. Beauchamp underwent treatment in Afghanistan and Germany, before being transferred to the Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda Maryland, where he spent 11 months recovering.
He was discharged in January 2013 and later received a medical discharge and permanent disability status from the National Guard.
During his rehabilitation, the Hewlett Fire Department’s Fire/Medic Unit helped transport Beauchamp to some of his appointments and served as a catalyst for his installment as an honorary member of the department. He doesn’t respond on fire or emergency medical calls, but he often visits the department for coffee and to socialize with the other members.
Today, Beauchamp is married to Michele Beauchamp, his high school sweetheart, and they still live in his childhood home on Stanton Avenue in Woodmere. They have two children, Tyler, 31, and Samantha, 34 — who followed in her father’s footsteps.
Scott and Samantha have had a close bond, she said. The Giants fans try to attend games annually at MetLife in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Samantha said her father taught her how to physically defend herself, and they have worked together to make their family’s pool deck, repair cars and even fix the roof on her grandmother’s Valley Stream home.
Samantha, who works security at UBS Arena in Elmont, joined the Hewlett Fire Department in 2021 as a paramedic, in part because of its aid to the family. When she attended the Oct. 18 ceremony, watching her father’s recognition made it a full-circle moment.
“It was nice to see that is service to our country is being recognized by others,” she said. “Even though he’s since retired from the military, people find the value in his service and it’s very touching that people respect that.”
When asked to reflect on the changes in the Five Towns, Beauchamp said he’s seen new families move in while continuing to build community — something that has kept him local.
“We’ve got the best of all worlds here,” he said. “I grew up here and I’ll spend my whole life here.”
