By JOSEPH KELLARD
Last Sunday, as bay breezes ruffled the row of Stars and Stripes he mounted on the Reynolds Channel bulkhead between Magnolia and National boulevards, Tolfree was one of 16 veterans who were honored with the installation of bricks inscribed with their names at the Veterans Walk of Honor there. His wife, Maureen, bought a brick for him, and he in turn bought one for her late father, William McDonald, a World War II veteran.
“I’m proud to have my name here,” Tolfree said after the brick installation ceremony, which the Long Beach American Legion holds twice a year, on Flag Day and Pearl Harbor Day.
At the ceremony, Russell Goetz, an eighth-grader at Long Beach Middle School, read from an essay entitled, “What the American Flag Means to Me,” which he entered in the legion’s Flag Day essay contest for local students. Russell’s piece, which won first prize, touched on the many places Old Glory has made historical appearances, from Iwo Jima to the moon to homes across the country after 9/11 to the coffins of troops flown home from Iraq.
“The ‘f’ stands for freedom,” the boy read to a crowd of about 50, “the ‘l’ for liberty, the ‘a’ for allegiance and ‘g’ for greatness … When I see the flag, it’s a reminder of what it means to me: freedom and liberty.”
Ely Altarac, a Korean War veteran and a past commander of the Jewish War Veterans, who was a co-founder of the brick program, helped set the day’s tone by reading from a poem, “I Am The Flag,” which celebrates the flag’s symbolism. “I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice,” Altarac read. “I stand for freedom ... I am recognized all over the world ... I am respected and I am feared ... I have been burned, torn and trampled on in streets ... But I shall overcome because I am strong.”
John Radin, a Korean War veteran who collaborated on the brick program with Altarac, recounted the history of Flag Day, which commemorates the flag’s adoption on June 14, 1777, by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress, and President Truman’s official establishment of the day in 1949.
Altarac and Radin created the Veterans Walk of Honor two years ago, with 60 red bricks and a single larger gold brick in honor of Michael Valente, a World War I veteran who was the only Long Beach recipient of the Medal of Honor, as well as seven bricks dedicated to servicemen who died in action. The walk now has 250 bricks.
A brick can be purchased for $75 through the American Legion and inscribed with a veteran’s name, branch and years of service — but not his rank. “In the American Legion we don’t have corporals, sergeants, generals,” Radin explained. “We had a general in the American Legion, but we never referred to him as general.”
Radin said that most people purchase bricks to honor their relatives, often as a birthday or anniversary gift. Some veterans buy their own bricks, as Radin and Altarac did; they also purchased bricks for their brothers.
William Muirhead bought one for his father, Gordon, a Long Beach resident and a casualty of the Korean War. “He served our country and he grew up in Long Beach, so I felt he should be here,” Muirhead said on Sunday. His uncle, William Muirhead, is among the veterans whose names are on display on the original bricks.
During the ceremony, Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg presented Goetz with a flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol, courtesy of U.S. Reps. Peter King and Carolyn McCarthy. “I tell everyone that that is the highest award in the United States,” Radin told Goetz.
City Councilman Lenny Remo recalled that when he was first elected to the council nearly eight years ago, he counted the stars on the yellowed, tattered American flag that hung above the council dais at City Hall and found that the total fell short of 50. He contacted King, who sent the city a flag that had flown over Washington. “On Flag Day, I’m pleased that we were able to put that flag in City Hall,” Remo said.
Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford and City Council Vice President Mona Goodman both recalled the seeming omnipresence of the Stars and Stripes after the terrorist attacks eight years ago. “After 9/11, people showed their patriotism and love of country by displaying the flag,” Goodman said. “I know everyone deep down feels that, but we just don’t show it enough.”
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
