Nassau veterans monument see addition of 260 names

For his 70th birthday this year, Jewish War Veterans Post 652 Commander Gary Glick was surprised to find that his family applied to have his name added to the Walls of Honor in Eisenhower Park.

He joined them last Saturday, when hundreds gathered on a hot summer morning to see the unveiling of the wall’s latest addition, the names of 260 local veterans.

Anyone who has served the United States, in wartime or peacetime, and was honorably discharged may have his or her name added to the Walls of Honor. Nearly 8,500 names have been added since the 1991 establishment of a monument committee and the Nassau County Veterans Monument Fund Inc., a private organization that collects a $100 donation from those who want to have a veteran’s name inscribed on the structure.

“These are vets who fought for our freedom and safety, and took it upon themselves to create this monument,” Pat Ingstrom, vice president of the Monument Fund, said of the fund’s founding members.

Glick, of North Merrick, served in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1972. His name was added, along with that of his father, Sol Glick, who served in the Army in 1945, and his grandfather Irving Moeb, who served shortly after World War I.

“It was a big surprise,” Glick said. “It means a lot to me to be honored on the wall.”

Last Saturday’s ceremony began with a tribute to the country’s prisoners of war and missing in action, with a table and empty chair set up in front of the podium where Ingstrom spoke. The table, he said, represented the veterans missing from the lives of their families, but not forgotten.

“We cannot begin to repay the debt that we owe them,” Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said. “But I think that’s a cop-out. We can try. How could we try? We could never take for granted our freedoms.”

Curran used her appearance to remind guests about the upcoming Veterans Summer Stand Down at the Freeport Armory on July 9. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., vets are entitled to benefits counseling, support services, health screening, haircuts and more. The Freeport Armory is at 63 Babylon Turnpike in Freeport.

“A lot of guys have no clue what they’re entitled to as vets,” Glick said. Nassau County has the second-largest number of veterans of any county in the country, around 50,000, according to the county Veterans Service Agency.

But, Glick said, many are not aware of the financial benefits and opportunities that are available to them. He will be working with the Jewish War Veterans at the Stand Down to advise his fellow veterans.

New York state offers veterans college tuition assistance, life insurance and annuities for those who are blind or have a blind spouse. Nassau County benefits include tax exemptions, employment counseling, discharge upgrading and free transportation to the East Meadow Veterans Agency Clinic at Nassau University Medical Center.

To obtain an application to have a name added to the Walls of Honor, call (516) 804-5802. Donations can be mailed to the Nassau County Veterans Monument Fund Inc., P.O. Box 7911, Hicksville, N.Y. 11802.