Friday, January 17, 2025
The warm spirit of the holidays was heartfelt at Dees’ Nursery in Oceanside for a storied tradition, as community members gathered for the Trees for Troops send-off on Dec. 9 — an event that has brought joy and comfort to thousands of service members deployed overseas.
The 21st annual event, held in partnership with international courier service DHL Express, local schools and organizations combined thoughtful messages, holiday cheer and a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by military families.
More than 400 live Christmas trees adorned with handwritten letters, ornaments and decorations prepared to make their way to U.S. troops stationed around the world. For many of these soldiers, separated from loved ones during the holiday season, these trees serve as a comforting reminder of home and community support.
“The care packages, the cards and the beautiful words on the cards, it matters and is appreciated,” retired U.S. Army Col. Thomas Sullivan said. “Little did I know 21 years ago that I’d be a young captain in a foreign country away from home and family during the holidays, and to bridge that gap in the absence of family, were letters. It is appreciated, and it certainly makes a difference.”
Many supporters turned out in Dees’ parking lot, at 69 Atlantic Ave., including Gold Star families, the Chaminade High School hockey team, the Girl Scouts of Nassau County, and students from Nassau County schools, who sent letters to accompany the trees overseas to the troops. In addition, Proctor-Hopson Post 1896 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Jamaica, Queens presented a donation of $15,409 for Trees for Troops.
Gold Star families are the immediate family members of U.S. military service members who died while serving their country in combat, during military operations, or as a result of their service.
Trees for Troops started in 2004 when a woman whose son was a soldier stationed in Iraq asked the nursery’s owner, Tom DiDominica Sr., if he could send her son a tree. DiDominica agreed, but needed help to ship it, and mentioned his mission to late community leader Jim Adelis, who organized the Trees for Troops event each year at Dees’ Nursery by contacting his contacts atDHL Express. Adelis then reached out to Cathy O’Reilly, manager of commercial air and network routing for DHL, who put the plan into motion. Adelis died in April of 2021 at the age of 67.
“A lot of people here knew him,” co-owner and son of Tom Sr., Joe DiDominica said of Adelis. “And he was an amazing man and one of the pillars of this whole thing and, unfortunately, he left us a few years back, and we miss him a lot.”
Joe DiDominica recounted the history of Dees’ Nursery, which started nearly 70 years ago with his father selling flowers on a corner in Oceanside. Now run by four generations of the family, the nursery is central to the Christmas tree initiative, involving family members and the broader community.
“There’s four generations that have been running this nursery,” O’Reilly said. “Everybody is just part of this great ‘Di’ team. A big thanks to the DiDominica family in Oceanside.”
Dennis and Marion Zilinski said they understand what the Trees for Troops event brings to veterans. Their son, Lt. Dennis Zilinski II, was killed on Nov. 19, 2005, in Iraq, and Dec. 1 marked the 18th anniversary of him being laid to rest at West Point.
The Zilinskis shared their emotional journey as Gold Star parents of a fallen soldier, and their continued efforts to support troops through the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Fund. Marion Zilinski reflected on their youngest son’s recent deployment to Syria, recounting a harrowing experience during which a bombing endangered his life.
“We received the phone call a month ago,” Marion Zilinski said. “He was in a building that was bombed. Now you can only imagine, as Gold Star parents, what it was like to receive that phone call. But his brother was his special angel because all of the officers that were in that building all survived the bombing.”
The Zilinskis also highlighted their recent efforts to send artificial Christmas trees to soldiers stationed in areas unable to receive live trees.
“This is what happens when people cooperate and work together,” Marion Zilinski said. “It makes for a better country and a better you.
