The 4th Annual Veterans Appreciation Day Celebration was held on Sunday at Marine Park's Carmine Carro Community Center.
Dozens of veterans, community leaders, and locals honored the veterans from within the boundaries of New York State's Assembly District 59, a district that includes Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach, Canarsie, Georgetown, Mill Basin, and other locations.
Since 2020, the district, led by Assemblywoman Jaime R. Williams, has honored its war and military veterans with an exhibition and banners depicting each veteran dotting the streets from Canarsie to Gerritsen Beach.
According to the Assemblywoman's office, 132 local veterans, living and deceased, have been honored. Each year sees new veterans with this year adding five more.
Those five were George R. Broadhead, who served with the United States Marine Corps in the Korean War; Edward Delaney who served in the Army with distinction from 1958 to 1960; Andrea Hodge, an original member of the Women's Army Corps who also achieved the rank of Platoon Sergeant; Lenox R. Hutson who was in the Army from 1972 to 1974, and again in the Reserves from 1981 until 1984; and Noelle Penatello who served in the Navy aboard the USS Holland AS-32 for three years.
The ceremony was held behind the Community Center. The portraits of all 132 veterans were pinned behind the stage, where the speakers spoke to an audience of just under 150 people. The Star-Spangled Banner, "America the Beautiful," and Ave Maria were sung, and a priest and a rabbi gave convocations. The tone from Assemblywoman Williams and other speakers focused on the importance of honoring and thanking veterans while noting the difficulty of fighting in a war.
"Don't let the rhetoric fool you," said the Assemblywoman. "Every day you see a veteran, thank a veteran. Everybody wants to be an American but not everyone wants to fight."
Another member of the New York State Assembly, Lester Chang of AD-49, who served in the Navy, said veterans are a small yet important part of the U.S. population.
"Some march off to war, but most didn't," he said, referring to the training process. "But we will protect the constitution with our lives if we have to. There are less than two million service members. There are more farmers than those in the military."
Another elected official who also served in the military, Steve Chan, the newly elected State Senator for SD-17, was a Corporal in the Marines. He shared his time serving in Iraq while also warning the attendants about more conflicts.
"Our fight is not over," Chan said. "The enemy is unfortunately within."
Guest speaker, Captain John G. Ingram urged the respect for veterans. The Marine veteran began his speech with a familiar phrase.
"Once a Marine, always a Marine!" Ingram said.
The ceremony concluded with the five honorees receiving their proclamations and an honorary dinner at Nick's Lobster House.
The idea of the celebration came from former State Senator Martin Golden and two veterans, Anthony Testaverde and Jim Buchanan, both are now deceased. When the Assemblywoman was elected in 2020, she started the celebrations with the first in 2021.
"I hope it continues," he said. "I really appreciate it. The number of veterans are dying off. I lost many friends in the last few years."
