HAUPPAUGE, NY--Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine hosted the largest gathering of Vietnam veterans in Suffolk County’s history on Saturday, March 29, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the End of the Vietnam War alongside elected officials, veterans’ groups and community members with over 400 attendees.
“Suffolk County remembers those lost during that terrible war and the many who returned home to an indifferent country battered by divisions,” said Romaine. “We gave our Vietnam veterans a long overdue hero’s welcome home.”
Attendees were greeted by a V-100 and an M114 Command and Reconnaissance Carrier from the Museum of American Armor in Old Bethpage and Jeeps from the Long Island Military Vehicle Club before entering Armed Forces Plaza for the ceremony.
“After discussions with various veterans’ groups, we decided the best way to honor our veterans this milestone year would be with a celebratory theme,” said Marcelle Leis, Director of the Suffolk County Veterans Services Agency. “This is the welcome home that every other generation of veterans received, so it is only right that we do it now.”
After the ceremony, veterans were treated to food trucks and music from A Band of Veterans and Friends.
The lobby of the H Lee Dennison Building has also been transformed into a war history museum to mark the occasion with temporary donations from the Lt. Michael Murphy Navy Seal Museum, Rocky Point VFW Post 6249, the Suffolk County World War II and Military History Museum and county employees.
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