A Time To Remember, To Reflect, To Heal: The Weekend Of June 6, 2008

HixNews Hall of Fame Nominee Joe Ingino, class of '67 ( hall_of_fame.htm ), who is an integral part of planning for the June 6 weekend's events, would like to see one of those events be a reunion of those of us from Hicksville who served, friends and family - any era, any branch, but especially Vietnam. As to the overall event...

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Washington, D.C.

1959... In Honor of the Men and Women of the Armed Forces of the United States Who Served In the Vietnam War. The Names of Those Who Gave Their Lives and of Those Who Remain Missing Are Inscribed In the Order They Were Taken From Us. Our Nation Honors the Courage,
Sacrifice and Devotion To Duty and Country of Its Vietnam Veterans. This Memorial Was Built With Private Contributions From the American People. ...1975

March 29, 2008 marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of the withdrawal of the last American combat troops from Vietnam.

During a period that spans almost two-decades, over 10 million Americans served on active duty, with 3 1/2 million serving in Southeast Asia. Over 30,000 were wounded in battle; hundreds of thousands are still severely disabled.

As of May 5, 2007, when another name was added, 58,256 men and women who were killed or remain missing have had their name carved in The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

This National Park Service site is their most-visited in D.C. The monument commemorates U.S. dead and missing-in-action who served in the Vietnam War, and has long been noted for its tremendous emotional impact.

Although the war exacted a significant toll both home and overseas, many of our community who might want to, may not be able to visit our nation's capital to experience "The Wall," a powerful reminder of the price of freedom that we enjoy. The memorial inspires our respect for those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our right to liberty and democracy.

Now, for three days, beginning on June 6, 2008, the "Dignity Memorial(R) Vietnam Wall Experience™," a traveling, three-quarter-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall,
will be at the Hicksville Sears during this June weekend. This faux-granite replica is 240 feet long, inscribed with the names of the Americans who died or are missing in Vietnam, allows for rubbings, and is eight feet high. This will be an opportunity for residents who have been unable to travel to partake in the experience. It will be a valuable learning venue for our children who know little about the Vietnam War.

The 'Wall' will be open around the clock from 8 a.m. June 6th until 6 p.m. June 8th. Admission is free. This event is sponsored by the Town of Oyster Bay, Dignity Memorial, and the Vernon C. Wagner Funeral Homes.

We hope you will join us there.

As I, too, am involved with the planning, I'm in an ideal position to ensure that if we want to do something, official or otherwise, it will happen.

Next month I'll write more about the event. For the time being here's some information about the volunteers we need.

For the three days beginning June 6, we are looking for volunteers to help us with: Hospitality Assistance; Physically Challenged Assistance; Programs & Ceremonies Assistance; Site Assistance, and; Visitor Assistance. For those three days we have identified six four-hour time frames: 8 am - 12 pm; 12 pm - 4 pm; 4 pm - 8 pm; 8 pm - 12 am; 12 am - 4 am, and; 4 am - 8 am. We are also looking for volunteers to assist us with the reading of 'Names.' If there is enough interest, the names etched on "The Wall" will be read during the three days, in 20-minute intervals.

If you might be interested in volunteering, please contact me directly - 516.733.8414 or veterans@oysterbay-ny.gov - for additional information. A PDF copy of the 'Volunteer Assignments' form can be found here.

More next month.

This Month's Not Commented on Article - If The Information Doesn't Your Position Increase... Then The Information Do Not Release

VA WITHHOLDS INFORMATION FROM FORT WAYNE HOSPITAL REPORT -- The
administration will not release the recommendations or suggestions in a $530,000 report ordered by Congress to assess whether services at the Fort Wayne Veterans Affairs hospital should be expanded or drastically reduced. About 160,000 veterans live in the 25 Indiana counties and three Ohio counties served by the hospital. Roughly 30 percent of them are in the VA health care system. Booz Allen Hamilton submitted a report in September 2007, but the Veterans Administration refused to make it public. Last month The Journal Gazette filed a request for it under the Freedom of Information Act. Three-fourths of the 78-page report was withheld by VA officials. Of the 21 pages that were released, most had thick black lines through sentences or whole paragraphs. Even the table of contents was blacked out. The omitted material referred to anything involved in a decision-making process, including opinions, findings and conclusions. The VA's Freedom of Information Act officer said no one outside of the agency will ever see a full copy of the report unless a congressional committee with oversight of the VA demands it as part of an investigation. 

Hicksville Trivia: Mid-Island Plaza! If you went to Hicksville High in the 60s, then the 'Plaza' meant a lot to you. In my re-telling of personal trivia involving the 'Plaza' I've already mentioned: the bagel-stands; the soft-ice cream stand; Food Fair; the Kodak camera store, and; Gertz. This month, how about the 'Plaza's' truck-tunnel? An east-west tunnel nowhere as famous as the Chunnel that connects England and France (...not even near - smile), for those who remember
the tunnel... they r.e.m.e.m.b.e.r the tunnel. With that said (and as Stan Lee, of Marvel Comic Books fame, might then say), 'Nuf Said! 

Lest We Forget: Currently there are (at least) 4,880 Veterans of Modern Warfare who no longer will be "asking" our government for a dime . . .

Till next month be well... and remember, "Let No Veteran Ever Stand Alone!"

--- --- Walt Schmidt Veteran Services Officer
- - --- TOBay's Veteran Services Division
- - - - "Let No Veteran Ever Stand Alone!"
--- --- WorkDayTime: 516.733.8414 & 24/7 Voice Mail
- - --- Anytime: 24/7 Voice Mail 516.799.8300
- - - - Website: http://www.waltsdorsai.net/
Ken Sun - Weekly Column: http://experts.longisland.com/veterans

"To know yet to think that one does not know is best;
Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty."
- Lao-Tzu 71:1

The elderly parking lot attendant wasn't in a good mood!

Neither was Sam Bierstock. It was around 1 a.m., and Bierstock, a Delray Beach, Fla. , eye doctor, business consultant, corporate speaker and musician, was bone tired after appearing at an event.

He pulled up in his car, and the parking attendant began to speak. "I took two bullets for this country and look what I'm doing," he said bitterly.

At first, Bierstock didn't know what to say to the World War II veteran. But he rolled down his window and told the man, "Really, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you."

Then the old soldier began to cry.

"That really got to me," Bierstock says. Bierstock, 58, and John Melnick, 54, of Pompano Beach - a member of Bierstock's band, Dr. Sam and the Managed Care Band - have written a song inspired by that old soldier in the airport parking lot. The mournful "Before You Go" does more than salute those who fought in WWII. It encourages people to go out of their way to thank the aging warriors before they die.

"If we had lost that particular war, our whole way of life would have been shot," says Bierstock, who plays harmonica. "The WW II soldiers are now dying at the rate of about 2,000 every day. I thought we needed to thank them."

The song is striking a chord. Within four days of Bierstock placing it on the Web, the song and accompanying photo essay have bounced around nine countries, producing tears and heartfelt thanks from veterans, their sons and daughters and grandchildren.

"It made me cry," wrote one veteran's son. Another sent an e-mail saying that only after his father consumed several glasses of win e would he discuss "the unspeakable horrors" he and other soldiers had witnessed in places such as Anzio, Iwo Jima, Bataan and Omaha Beach. "I can never thank them enough," the son wrote. "Thank you for thinking about them."

Bierstock and Melnick thought about shipping it off to a professional singer, maybe a Lee Greenwood type, but because time was running out for so many veterans, they decided it was best to release it quickly, for free, on the Web. They've sent the song to Sen. John McCain and others in Washington. Already they have been invited to perform it in Houston for a Veterans Day tribute - this after just a few days on the Web. They hope every veteran in America gets a chance to hear it.

GOD BLESS every EVERY veteran...
and THANK you to those of you veterans who may receive this !

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO HEAR THE SONG AND SEE THE PICTURES:
 
http://www.managedmusic.com/Music/PlayBeforeYouGo.php 
 
 If that doesn't work, click http://www.managedmusic.com/beforeyougo.html  and keep clicking on "hear the song."

I received this from my brother which I found very moving and thought you might include it in the next newsletter as part of Honoring our Vets.

OUTSTANDING!!!

This film was made by a 15 year old girl.

The following is the hottest thing on the internet and on Fox News.
Lizzie Palmer who put this YouTube program together is 15 years old. There
have been over 3,000,000 hits. In case you missed it,

Here it is.  Watch all of it.......and, pass it on!!

http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1

The Few, The Proud...

Making the internet rounds...

As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open. The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty-five feet away. I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm, walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too and took a few steps towards him. I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something. The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade and then turn back to the old man and I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying, "You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age." And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot.

I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief and mop his brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine. He then went to his wife and spoke with her and appeared to tell her it would be okay. I had seen enough and I approached the old man. He saw me coming and stood straight and as I got near him I said, "Looks like you're having a problem." He smiled sheepishly and quietly nodded his head. I looked under the hood myself and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me. Looking around I saw a gas station up the road and told the old gentleman that I would be right back. I drove to the
station and went inside and saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them and related the problem the old man had with his car and offered to pay them if they could follow me back down and help him. The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us he straightened up and thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated engine) I spoke with the old gentleman. When I shook hands with him earlier he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I
nodded and asked the usual question, "What outfit did you serve with?" He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. He had hit all the big ones and retired from the Corps after the war was over.

As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me and I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card. He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket. We all shook hands all around again and I said my goodbye's to his wife. I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the station. Once at the station I told them that they had
interrupted their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me. One of them pulled out a card from his pocket looking exactly like the card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then, that they were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around and as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me and I said I would and drove off. For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over and took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long, time. The
name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name... "Congressional Medal of Honor Society."

I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading it over and over. I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together, because one of us needed help. He was an old man alright, but it felt good to
have stood next to greatness and courage and an honor to have been in his presence.

America is not at war. The U.S. Military is at war. America is at the Mall.

You have to love the sense of humor of the American GI!

Dear Friend,

Last year you may recall that my husband Ted and I participated in the Face of America bike ride to benefit disabled Veterans.  On May 3rd & 4th, 2008 World T.E.A.M. Sports (The Exceptional Athlete Matters), working with the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, The National Navy Medical Center, The Soldiers Angel Foundation, The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, and others will be hosting the 2008 Face of America Bike Ride, a two-day inclusive bike ride from Bethesda, MD to historic Gettysburg, PA to honor and assist servicemen and women who have been severely injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and any and all other servicemen and women as well.

This ride offers the unique opportunity for anybody to ride side by side with these heroes and personally encourage them and let them know that they can still be active athletes and still be a part of the TEAM.  There is no charge for any active duty servicemen or women, both able-bodied and disabled, to participate. There is a $ 400 minimum fundraising goal for all other participants. The money raised will pay for all the costs of the active duty participants, including accommodations, food, outreach, providing usage of bikes, cycling clinics, and all other costs associated with the ride.

For over 18 years, World T.E.A.M. Sports has produced inclusive sporting events all over the world, including a ride the length of Vietnam , teaming veterans from both sides of that war, The Face of America rides, and free inclusive sports and character-building programs for inner-city kids.

The 2008 Face of America ride is the sixth such ride, with previous rides including rides from Ground Zero in New York to the Pentagon in 2002 after the 9/11 tragedies.  World T.E.A.M. Sports uses the universal power of sports to create soul-stirring experiences by teaming people with disabilities with able-bodied people, forming a true T.E.A.M.   "We all ride the same road"

THIS IS HOW YOU CAN HELP:

2) Dust off your bike and join the ride.  Please know that this is not a race....it is an opportunity to show our Veterans our support.  The participants, both able-bodied and disabled, range in riding skill from fairly high speed to fairly high drag.  Last year a middle aged couple showed up on mountain bikes and completed the ride with much cheering from the sidelines!!!  Here is how you join our team, the "DREAMCATCHERS":     

Go to: http://www.worldteamsports.org/

Press "Click Here to Register" (in center of page)

Press "Participant Registration" (in left hand column of page).  Click "I Agree"

Click on radio button that says "Join A Team" and then from the drop down menu, select "DreamCatchers" as your team.  From there, the web site will direct you. 

Tee-shirt and dinner for you is at no additional charge.  Don't be alarmed by the minimum donation requirement.  That is why we are a team - we will divert donations your way if you need help.   OR:

3) Volunteer as support staff on the weekend of the ride.  There are numerous ways that you can help such as SAG support, Rest Stop support, EMT, Massage therapists, etc.  Last year I loaded wheelchairs into our van and drove it to each rest stop so the riders could get off their bikes and rest.  Since I will be riding this year, we would like someone to take over this task.  Please contact me directly at Beowulf8@optonline.net  to inquire about this task.  For all others to volunteer:   

Go to: http://www.worldteamsports.org/

Press "Click Here to Register" (in center of page)

Press "Volunteer Registration" and follow directions from there.   OR:

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF OUR VETERANS AND THE DREAMCATCHERS TEAM!!   

To the Editors of the news Letter. I received this news video from a
fellow Vet. I could not believe what I was watching.
Yours Truly Tony Masi Class 1963, Navy Vet.

You might not believe this could happen in our country, but it has...

(http://www.ksdk.com/video/default.aspx?aid=67740&sid=138863&bw=hi&cat=70)

And, for more information including ways you can help:

Missing In America Project ("MIAP" - http://www.miap.us/)

Mission Statement: The purpose of the MIAP is to locate, identify and
inter the unclaimed cremated remains of American veterans through the
joint efforts of private, state and federal organizations. To provide
honor and respect to those who have served this country by securing a
final resting place for these forgotten heroes.

Scope: The initial focus of the MIA Project is a massive, nation-wide
effort to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed remains of
forgotten veterans.

This task will be executed through the combined, cooperative efforts
of members of the American Legion, other volunteer service and veteran
organizations, local Funeral Homes, State Funeral Commissions, State
and National Veterans Administration Agencies, and the State and
National Veterans Cemetery Administrations.

Local, state and national laws must be followed in the identification,
claiming process and proper interment of the unclaimed remains of
forgotten veterans.