Stories behind the monuments

The family as a whole misses him. He was the glue.”

Jennifer Ayers, Daughter of veteran

This month, Pinelawn Memorial Park and Arboretum, in Farmingdale, will begin honoring the veterans laid to rest there with the launch of the Pinelawn Veterans Legacy Project. In an ongoing initiative, Pinelawn will share families’ stories about their loved ones, in appreciation of their service.

Jennifer Ayers, of Baldwin, is one of the first participants, telling the story of her father, Patrick Ayers. She remembers him as a dedicated E8 first sergeant in the Army, with a great smile and an unwavering love for his family. “My dad loved being in the military, and our family was so proud of his 20-plus years of service,” Jennifer wrote to the Herald. “He was strong, reliable, and loved his children and grandchildren as fiercely as they loved him.”

Her father’s service started, Jennifer said, when he joined the National Guard in either 1966 or 1967. At the time of the Vietnam War, he anticipated being called to serve overseas, but his troop was never called, and he moved on to work in communications. After Vietnam he served in the Army Reserve and then the military police, working as a guard at Fort Knox, Tennessee.

Ayers was activated by the National Guard during the U.S. postal strike of 1970. The strike, that March, over postal workers’ wages and working conditions, lasted eight days, spread from New York to other cities in the following two weeks, and is considered the largest wildcat strike in U.S. history.

In the 1990s Ayers trained soldiers at various base camps. He was on call when the Gulf War started, but once again was not called to action. “At that time, he felt it was time to retire,” Jennifer recalled. “He did over 20 years, and he knew in his heart that it was time to leave.”

Ayers, who sometimes worked three jobs odd jobs when Jennifer was young in the 1980s, was familiar with strikes, and whenever there was a strike at his workplace, “He found another job, whatever it was,” she recalled, to keep the family afloat. “He was a husband, father, grandfather, the oldest child out of 11 brothers and sisters, and an uncle. He was there for anyone if they needed help.  He could fix anything. He was the one you went to for answers — he guided us.”

Jennifer also remembers her father’s less serious side, with “the best dad jokes — you know the corny ones.” He was a self-taught electric guitarist as well. He was a generous, kind and honorable man, she said, who enjoyed learning about history, science and especially the weather.

He died peacefully at age 64 on Feb. 24, 2012.

“The family as a whole misses him,” his daughter said. “He was the glue. My dad had a big heart. You never needed to worry about anything — he took care of it.”

Ayers’s story will be among the many featured in the Veterans Legacy Project, which will help those stories live on, and help families continue to feel connected to those they’ve lost.

“We want to pay tribute to the many men and women who have served our country and [are] resting peacefully now at Pinelawn,” Justin Locke, the facility’s president and CEO, said. “Their sense of duty and patriotism is like no other, and in a world now when heroes need to be celebrated, we want to do our part in helping our families honor and remember their loved ones’ brave contributions to our country.”

The Legacy Project will honor veterans monthly on Pinelawn’s website and social media pages. Those who have a loved one interred there who would like to be included in the project can complete the form on the website and upload a high-resolution photo of their loved one, preferably in uniform.