'It brought tears to our eyes'

After robbery, Legion received $8,000 in donations

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Morale was low among members of East Meadow’s American Legion Post 1082 last month. On Oct. 6, their hall, on Bellmore Road, was burglarized. A safe, storing $7,000 that the Legion intended to use to help local veterans and children, was stolen.

“I was in disbelief,” said Commander Larry Fitzsimmons. “You felt violated.”

But the community responded to the robbery in spectacular fashion. Within days, people started showing up at the Legion hall to give donations. “People came out of the woodwork, gave us a hundred here, a hundred there,” said member John Flower. “We had people walking in off the street just handing me 20, 40 dollars. It was amazing, it really was.”

The money came from near and far, Legion officials said, as well as from other veterans groups, including East Meadow Veterans of Foreign War Post 2736, and American Legion Babylon Post 94. Two Afghanistan veterans, Flower said, showed up one day and donated $1,000. Oz Trucking and Rigging, in Wyandanch, donated a 1,000-pound safe.

By mid-November, donations reached $8,000. “It brought tears to our eyes that our neighbors came out and about to do this,” said Stacy Lambert of the Legion’s Ladies Auxiliary. “It’s a heartwarming thing.”

The group has since continued with the charitable efforts it had originally planned, donating to the Wounded Warrior Project to build houses for wounded veterans, and purchasing dozens of children’s games to donate to Toys for Tots. Last Saturday, the Legion prepared Thanksgiving dinner in the hall for veterans who belong to local Beacon homes, putting out a delectable spread of traditional fare: turkey, stuffing, mashed and sweet potatoes, gravy and more.

That morning, Legion members used vans lent by the East Meadow VFW to pick veterans up at Beacon homes in Freeport and Hempstead, which are among a network of 24 houses in Nassau and Suffolk that shelter and provide services to veterans in need.

Some 40 people were packed inside the hall last Saturday afternoon, chatting and chowing down on an early Thanksgiving dinner. The mood was upbeat — a stark contrast to a month earlier. When asked how the food tasted, one visiting veteran flashed a giant grin and said, “Delicious.”

Lambert said that while the robbery was traumatic, it was important for Legion members to keep a positive attitude so as to not let the thieves think they got the best of them. She added that alarms and cameras have since been installed.

The Bellmore Road hall has been home to Post 1082 since 1935. The regular atmosphere inside, members said, is not unlike last Saturday, particularly on football Sundays, when there is food and camaraderie aplenty. Veterans from all communities, they said, are always welcome.

Flower said that the post, which has about 140 members, intends to continue its charitable efforts this holiday season, and that the planning of a children’s party is in the works. “We hope we can continue to do this around Christmastime,” he said.