Lynbrook Elks offer ‘A Salute to Our Veterans’

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Lynbrook’s New York Elks Lodge No. 1 recently hosted 155 veterans from seven facilities and hospitals for its annual “A Salute to Our Veterans” event.
Guests at the lodge represented military personnel from all branches of the U.S. services. The veterans were bussed from different facilities, and many of them served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and in Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. About 50 Elks members volunteered to organize the event and clean up after it was over.
“Elks members, their families and military veterans of Elks Lodge No. 1 were honored to serve all those that needed a night away from their facilities,” Grand Exalted Ruler Designate John M. Nuzzi Sr. said in a statement. “This is the obligation that the Elks have taken: So long as there are veterans in our hospitals, the benevolent and protected order of the Elks will never forget them.”
The lodge has been honoring veterans for more than five decades, and welcomes back many familiar faces year after year. The veterans enjoyed a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings and then a cast of volunteers put on a show and played music to entertain them.
The veterans even got involved in the show, singing along with the songs and dancing between the tables. The cast rehearsed its performances for three months leading up to the event and the kitchen crew meticulously planned to cook and serve the meals.

At the end of the show, the cast sang the anthems of each military service branch.

Compiled by Mike Smollins