Morgan Memorial Park was lined with 91 banners on Sunday, May 25, each one honoring a Glen Cove veteran or active-duty service member. The Glen Cove Salutes Military Tribute Banner Program held its fourth annual ceremony on Memorial Day weekend, celebrating the lives and legacies of those who served while also shining a spotlight on the city’s youth.
The event, co-sponsored by VFW Post 347 and the Tribute and Honor Foundation, included the announcement of the winner of this year’s “Echoes of Freedom” essay contest: Glen Cove High School junior Michael Renga.
“Today, the veterans represented throughout the park reflect military service in conflicts and wars spanning from the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the war in Afghanistan, to the war in Iraq,” said Lydia Wen Rogers, co-director of the Glen Cove Salutes program. “Through the years, we have honored men and women from five of the six military branches. We look forward to one day honoring a veteran from the Space Force.”
Rogers added that all veterans featured on the banners once called Glen Cove home. “Many were born and raised here. As you meander through the park, you’ll notice many pairs sharing the same surnames—fathers and sons, brothers, cousins, classmates, neighbors, and friends.”
Gaitley Stevenson-Mathews, president of the Tribute and Honor Foundation, reflected on the grassroots beginnings of the project. “To be here today and to be in partnership with VFW Post 347 is such a great privilege,” he said. “At the end of the day, it is the people of Glen Cove and it is the people of Long Island who make any of these initiatives successful.”
Renga’s essay focused on the founding principles of the United States—justice, equality, the rule of law, popular sovereignty, and liberty—and called on his generation to renew the promise of democracy.
“Our founding principles were not perfect at their inception,” he wrote. “Perfect? No. But powerful? Yes. Democracy is not a finished project. It is a living and growing promise, one that each of us is responsible for renewing.”
Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck presented Renga with a certificate of recognition. “Michael, you never cease to amaze me,” she said. “Through vivid words and deep reflection, Michael honored the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.”
The banners will remain on display throughout the summer as Glen Cove continues to remember and honor its heroes.
Following the banner unveiling ceremony and recognition of essay contest winner Michael Renga, community members continued their Memorial Day tribute by laying wreaths and paying respects at several veteran monuments across Glen Cove. The solemn procession began at Morgan Memorial Park, home to the Veterans Memorial Monument, where many gathered to reflect. The group then visited the Glen Cove Public Library, where the War Memorial Monument honors residents lost in World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. At the intersection of Ford Street and Forest Avenue, they paused at the Vietnam War Memorial, a bronze plaque dedicated to Glen Cove’s fallen from that conflict. On Elm Avenue, they visited the Korean War Monument, a quiet granite marker listing names of local service members. At Calvary Cemetery, mourners honored the World War II Memorial, which recognizes Glen Cove veterans interred there. The tribute concluded at St. Rocco’s Church, where the St. Rocco’s Memorial Plaque commemorates parishioners who made the ultimate sacrifice. Each stop was marked by wreath-laying, prayers, and moments of silence, ensuring that the city’s heroes were remembered with dignity and gratitude.
