Funeral for a veteran in Oceanside

Members of VFW 3350, from East Rockaway, served as pallbearers at the funeral for Angel Gallant. (Penny Frondelli/Herald)

The Nassau County Police Homicide Squad reported a pedestrian was struck crossing Long Beach Road in Oceanside on Aug. 15 at about 7:25 p.m. Oceanside Fire Chief John Madden said it was a homeless man who was known in the area. He was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.

The man has been identified as Angel Gallart. Towers Funeral Home gave him a military funeral on Monday. According to a spokesman for the funeral home, former Private First Class Gallart was born in Puerto Rico, and the Nassau County Department of Social Services is looking for his family.

“As many of the Oceanside residents have heard, a local homeless veteran has passed away as a result of an unfortunate accident,” a spokesperson for the funeral home said in a statement. “Angel Gallart was a simple and friendly presence in the community, frequenting many of our shops to pass time and converse. Over the years he has made many acquaintances and friends in Oceanside. It is unknown if Angel has any family.”

Sandy Schoell, an Oceanside Board of Education trustee, went to pay tribute, and was joined by many community leaders. “My father was a vet,” Schoell said, “and here is a homeless man, a fixture in the community and also a vet, so I went to pay my respects.” She complimented the Kallinkos family, of the funeral home, for the work they did to honor Gallart, and Deacon John O’Connor of Saint Anthony’s Church, who delivered the eulogy.

Gallart was buried at Calverton National Cemetery with military honors.

“We cannot do enough for these men and women who defend us as Americans,” a Towers spokesman said. The funeral home cannot take donations, he added, but gifts in Gallart’s name can be made to any charity.

“It was very touching to see the vets that turned out from every branch of service, and members of so many organizations,” Schoell said. “Bob Transom and Pat Ross, from Oceanside Kiwanis; Tony Iovino, from the Oceanside Library; Danny Ramos, from the Knights of Columbus — even the Boy Scouts, which I thought was wonderful.”

“He was a proud man,” Schoell added. “Saint Anthony’s tried to help him, people tried to help, but he would not take money. Everyone called him Louis — I think it was his middle name — and everyone knew him.

“They said, in his eulogy, that he spent 18 years in the military,” she added. “That kind of service deserves recognition.”