ALBANY, N.Y. - In honor of National Vietnam War Veterans Day, State Senator Pete Harckham introduced a resolution to the full Senate and welcomed a group of 20 local Vietnam War veterans to the State Capitol last week.
National Vietnam War Veterans Day is commemorated each year on March 29.
In entering his resolution, Harckham noted that the state “wishes to show its Vietnam veterans the respect and appreciation they deserve but did not always get when they returned home.”
Harckham noted that more than three million Americans served their country in the Vietnam War, and over 58,000 sacrificed their lives. Today, the names of those 58,318 lives lost are forever engraved in the black granite panels of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.
“Today we pay homage to the brave men and women who served in the Vietnam War, knowing full well that they served with tremendous courage and sacrifice,” said Harckham. “Unfortunately, our nation did not display those sentiments when these war veterans came home; they were treated with scorn and disrespect.”
Continued Harckham, “Undeterred, many of our Vietnam veterans returned home and spent years serving and taking care of each other and serving our communities as well. They vowed that succeeding generations of American warriors would return home and be treated like heroes—a welcome they did not always receive. And they fought for healthcare, housing, and PTSD treatment. They have been an inspiration to all of us, and their good deeds and efforts continue to inspire us every day.
“Today, the best way we can honor veterans of the Vietnam War who reside in New York—and all veterans statewide—is to acknowledge that our service to them must be never ending.”
Harckham provided transportation for the veterans to travel from the Hudson Valley to Albany, where they were welcomed at the State Capitol by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. Later, a lunch was held in their honor in the Legislative Office Building.
Somers’ Roy Ettere, an Army Specialist 4th class who enlisted in 1969 and served in the Vietnam War from January 1970 to March 1971, added, “It’s nice that they would honor Vietnam veterans. Even though this honor was not extended to us at the time, it is greatly appreciated today. Having this come from the state rather than some organization focusing on veterans makes it even more substantial of a gesture. I’m sorry for the veterans that couldn’t see this day of progress.”
The Vietnam War veterans who traveled to Albany as guests of Harckham were:
· Art Hanley and Harry Sherblom from Brewster
· Liam Baker from Carmel
· Robert Anderson and William Tuttle from Croton-on-Hudson
· James Martin and William Goodenough from Cortlandt Manor
· Eugene Cascioli from Mahopac
· Lu Caldera and Michael O’Connor from Ossining
· Chester Edwards from Port Chester
· Ronald McConnachie from Shrub Oak
· Joseph Manna, Gerlad Whitmore and Roy Ettere from Somers
· Robert Joyce from Tappan
· Marcus Arroyo from Tomkins Cove
· Anthony Ambrogio and Patrick Bennett from Yorktown Heights
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