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Mostly Cloudy Canine Companions to honor WWII veteran David Marshall
Baldwin World War 2 veteran David Marshall, 99, will be honored at Canine Companions annual Veterans Day event.
The event will take place on Nov. 8 at the Inn at New Hyde Park at 6:30 p.m. Marshall, who fought 170 days in combat and was awarded a Bronze Star and French Legion of Honor for valor among his many other medals, will be recognized for his service during WWII. Marshall attended a Canine Companions’ event recently where he participated in giving two dogs to two veterans.
“We have a committee made up of a lot of our graduates,” John Bentzinger, Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator from Canine Companions, said. “And we nominate veterans to honor at this event, who are not necessarily graduates from our program, but they are veterans who have continued to serve their local communities after their service is over.”
Along with Marshall being honored, so will a 90-year-old Korean War Veteran Salvatore Scarlato of Hauppauge, Vietnam Veteran Richard Mooney and his service dog Marshal from Floral Park, and US Army Capt. Joseph Amato of Massapequa and United Asset Strategies president Mike Riccardi of Garden City.
At the Canine Companions center in Medford, there is a training facility for the veterans to learn how to use over 40 commands that the dogs there have been taught. Such commands include opening and closing doors, turning off and on the lights, picking up and dropping items. There are event some commands for veterans who suffer from PTSD.
“This is our 12th year for the event,” Bentzinger said. “We started off just as an event to honor some local veterans that support Canine Companions and it’s been so popular that we’ve expanded it to include veterans all the way back to World War II.”
Bentzinger noted that a few weeks ago, a veteran graduated from the class and Bentzinger asked Marshall if he would go to the facility and give the veteran a Canine Companions Challenge Coin. This coin is based off of the challenge coins that were given out to service members during WWII.
“So I asked David if he would come and present the Canine Companions Challenge Coin and it was great,” Bentzinger said. “David also received a tour of the facility and learned a lot more about our organization.”
Bentzinger said that Marshall got up and gave a brief “extemporaneous speech, telling these two, much younger, veterans that he knows how they have been struggling with Post Traumatic Stress.” He continued, “I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.”
“It’s an honor that I can still wear my uniform,” Marshall said at the event. “I am so proud that I can still put it on and the uniform itself means an awful lot for me and has done a lot for me.”
Marshall said to be at the event and see what this organization does for veterans is “beyond the words” that he can use.
According to Bentzinger, Canine Companions is leading the service dog industry so that clients and their dogs can live with greater independence. The facility provides service dogs to adults, children, and veterans with disabilities and facility dogs to professionals working in healthcare, criminal justice, and educational settings. Since being founded in 1975, the dogs and all follow-up services are provided at no cost.
