By ANTHONY BOTTAN
For one ex-Marine, Gregory Feist, the grand marshal of Monday's parade, it's a day when he thinks about his high school best friend, Andy, who died on the battlefield in Vietnam.
"Memorial Day is a day to remember those who sacrificed and made this country what it is today," Feist said.
Feist is a member of Valley Stream's Veterans of Foreign War and is a past commander of Post 1790. He was chosen by current Commander Joe Marando to be this year's grand marshal.
Feist has lived in the village since 1952 and is a graduate of Central High School's class of 1966. After graduation, he joined the Marine Corps and was deployed to Vietnam in May of 1967. There he worked as a combat engineer, disarming land mines and booby traps.
But on March 29, 1968, his life changed forever. While he was on a daily mine sweep, a nearby military vehicle hit a land mine. The explosion sent Feist sailing, wounding him in the process. He spent two weeks in the hospital, where doctors removed shrapnel from his head and neck. The blast also broke his eardrums. He later received a Purple Heart, and stayed in the Marines until 1970.
"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about it," Feist said about his time in Vietnam.
He recalled that when he first joined the Marine Corps, his best friend at the time, Andy, was already enlisted. "He wrote in my yearbook, 'See you on the battlefields of Vietnam,'" Feist said. But they never reunited on the battlefield, because Andy was killed only a year after Feist joined the Marines. He said he didn't even know his best friend had died until his wife sent him a letter with the bad news.
To this day, Feist said, certain smells, sounds and songs give him flashbacks of his time in Vietnam. He said that it's nice to have veterans acknowledged on Memorial Day, but too many people don't understand the true meaning of the day. "It's so commercialized," he said. "It's just another day off of work for people and as a vet, it's upsetting."
It was a great honor, he said, to be chosen as the parade's grand marshal, and ride in the first car after the VFW and American Legion colorguards. Since a person can be grand marshal only once, he took great pride in it. "It's a real honor," he said. "You can't forget where you came from."
Feist's family has been in Valley Stream for more than 60 years. His wife and daughter both attended Central High School. His mother worked in the cafeteria at Central and his father was head custodian at South. Over the years, Feist said, he has watched Valley Stream grow. "I've definitely seen it change," he said. "I remember when Merrick Road was only two lanes!"
As a VFW member, Feist said it's good to interact with other war veterans, even if the relationships do not extend to discussions of what happened in the past. "It's good and surprising," he said. "They bring back a lot of memories, but seldom talk about combat. I don't think anyone knows, no matter how close we are, exactly what happened out there. A lot of guys have been through hell."
Monday's parade was followed by a ceremony at the veterans monument on the village green. The names of Valley Stream residents who died serving in World Wars I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam and Iraq were read - a total of 95 men. A red carnation was placed before the monument stone for each name called.
The American Legion and VFW provided a firing squad, and the South High School band performed.
Comments about this story? ABottan@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
