Committee Unveils Updated Veterans Memorials at Annual Setauket Ceremony
Every year on Nov. 11, veterans are remembered at a ceremony at the Setauket Veterans Memorial Park on the corner of Route 25A and Shore Road. This year, two new memorials were unveiled to recognize those who served in the Cold War, Granada/Lebanon and Panama, the Gulf War and the Global War on Terror. The new memorials are the result of the combined efforts of Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), commanders of local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts located in Setauket, Stony Brook and Port Jefferson Station and the Long Island Veterans Home at Stony Brook University.
The War Memorial Fund Committee updated several memorials last year on Setauket’s Village Green, in Stony Brook Village and along the Port Jefferson Harbor.
The project was funded by local businesses and community members.
Jack Gozdziewski, a member of American Legion Post 432 and VFW Post 3054, who initially approached Hahn with the idea to update the monuments, said it was important to honor all soldiers whether they had boots on the ground or served during the Cold War. Gozdziewski pointed out how one side of the Gulf War and Global War on Terror stone is left blank in case of another conflict, and the hope is that it will stay blank.
“Please pray for that and thank all the veterans that have protected us so this wall will never be used again,” he said.
