Village of Malverne residents marked Veterans Day on Nov. 11 by joining an American Legion ceremony held at the train station, while village officials announced efforts to preserve a memorial bench in honor of a local Army hero.
The Malverne American Legion Post #44 held its annual Veterans Day ceremony, with the help of village officials, at the Malverne LIRR station. The ceremony usually takes place at Chester A. Reese Veterans Memorial Park, where an honor roll is displayed with the names of residents who have served the country. But due to light snow flurries that fell in the morning, the event was moved inside at the nearby train station.
“I want to thank everyone who come today to honor those who served and those who never came home,” Ron West, the post’s commander, said. “Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. I share the pride you feel in being able to say you have served in the greatest military in the world.”
Dozens of legion members and residents came together to mark the 71st Veterans Day, originally known as Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I. Veterans Day is celebrated at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. A 1954 act of Congress proclaimed Nov. 11 as Veterans Day to honor all military veterans.
“I am grateful to be here with you to honor all the veterans who came before us, those who stood alongside us, and those who will come after us,” West said. “Your sacrifice represent the best of us and the best of America.”
Malverne pays tribute to local veterans with projects held throughout the village. “We have the banner project, which many of the people in this room are featured on,” Mayor Tim Sullivan said. “We dedicate benches and trees in your honor. But it’s the aspect of never forgetting that is the most important thing we do as a community.”
Sullivan shared details about a project the village and legion are collaborating on, preserving a memorial bench honoring Alfred Van Wagner, the late Malverne Park resident.
Van Wagner, a U.S. Army private with the 94th Infantry Division, was in combat during World War II when he was killed on March 2, 1945, just months before the war ended. Based on records, Van Wagner was around 22 years old at the time of his death.
Van Wagner, who received a Purple Heart for his sacrifice, is buried overseas in the Luxembourg American Cemetery in Luxembourg City. To honor his memory, Malverne Park residents donated an engraved stone bench to his parents, Leo and Elizabeth, who kept the bench on the side of their home at 132 Dogwood Ave.
In 1981, the couple moved and sold the house, which John Siegel’s parents purchased, while agreeing to maintain the bench. “They asked my folks to keep the bench. They said ‘yes,’” Siegel, 79, said. “When I bought the house from my folks, there was an understanding that I would keep the bench.”
A veteran himself, Siegel sold the house and attempted to convince the new owners to keep the bench or contact him if they were going to get rid of it.
When demolition began on the property in early October, Siegel wasn’t made aware of it. However, Sullivan, whose sister lives across the street, was informed and knew of the bench and its significant history.
“They said to me, ‘If anything would happen to this home, we need to preserve this bench in honor of Alfred Van Wagner,’” Sullivan recalled.
“The bench was maybe the only memorial for their son on American soil,” Sullivan added. “It meant that much to the community, so we certainly should preserve this bench.”
Before demolition, Sullivan organized volunteers from the village’s Department of Public Works and VDM Masonry, and with permission of the current owner, they managed to save the bench. It is being stored on Public Works’ property until members of the legion find a permanent home for it.
“It’s not the bench that we’re really talking about here,” Sullivan said. “It’s the memory of a fallen veteran whose remains are located halfway across the world. This bench dedicated to him was a gift to that family by residents as a local memorial for him.
“So it’s not only the Alfred Van Wagners of the world that we remember today,” Sullivan continued. “We remember, as a community, the sacrifices of those who gave their all, the sacrifices of you and your families.”
Before the Veterans Day ceremony, the Malverne Historical and Preservation Society treated all Malverne residents who have served the country to a free continental breakfast at the Joseph L. Landers Memorial Restoration Historical House at 369 Ocean Ave.
Legion members, the historical society board, and local veterans have attended the breakfast each year.
“It’s our honor and privilege to do this because if it weren’t for them, we would not be here today,” David Weinstein, historical society president, said. “We want to thank them for their service, what they’ve done and what they continue to do.”
