By Nick Buglione
PTA members from each of East Meadow's nine schools sent the first of a series of care packages to American troops. Parents and students from the schools had been working together collecting baby wipes, eye drops, lip balm, suntan lotion and other luxuries soldiers in Iraq don't have ready access to. About 25 boxes of those and other items were packed and ready to be mailed out last Friday.
"I think this community needs to know that we support these guys over there," said Kathy Volpe, co-president of the Parkway Elementary School PTA. "Without a doubt, I'm finding out how many people are from East Meadow [who are in Iraq]."
East Meadow PTA Council President Laurie May, who helped organize the effort, has two nephews from Hicksville fighting in the war -- one in the Marines and one in the Air Force. "I just think it's absolutely important to show support to our troops and to get our community actively involved," May said.
Packages like the ones East Meadow residents sent out can be huge morale boosters for the troops, said Lt. Col. Pat Coffey, of the 2nd Battalion 25th Marines, based in Garden City. "Anything that gets to the guys overseas is good," said Coffey, noting that some 400 Marines from his battalion have been activated and will soon be transferred to Iraq.
"There's a lot of down time, especially if they aren't engaged or if they're in transportation units," he added. "This gives them a connection with normalcy."
The yellow ribbons that were seemingly omnipresent during the first Gulf War are now out en masse in East Meadow. The Chamber of Commerce footed the bill for the ribbons, 400 of which PTA members posted on poles along East Meadow's stretch of Hempstead Turnpike.
"Whether you are for the war or against the war, you have to be in support of the men and women over there fighting the war," said Theresa Masopust, president of the East Meadow High School PTSA. Masopust, whose close friend, East Meadow resident Joe Klobus, is serving in the war as a Coast Guard reservist, added that anti-war protests are having a negative impact on the troops.
"[Klobus] feels like they don't have anyone behind them," she said. "He doesn't need to have that over his head while he's over there."
Meanwhile, East Meadow Boy Scout Troop 362 spent much of last Saturday adorning East Meadow Avenue's lamp posts and poles with yellow ribbons. "The boys feel there's not much they can do; they're nervous, they're scared [about the war]," said Scoutmaster Tom Rheel. "It's something they can physically do to support the troops."
Days before their effort, the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce had hung scores of American flags along East Meadow Avenue. "It's important to keep this in the forefront of your mind all the time," said James Skinner, a chamber member. "They're our troops. They're our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our aunts and uncles."
Community organizations and local elected officials are also urging residents to attend a Pray for Peace interfaith service on Monday, April 7 at 7 p.m. It will take place at Veterans Memorial Park, at East Meadow and Prospect avenues.
Pray for peace
An interfaith prayer service will be held on Monday, April 7 at 7 p.m. in Veterans Memorial Park, at the corner of East Meadow and Prospect avenues.
