From Navy Corpsman To Community Protector: Stratford Veteran Honored For Service

Stratford, CT — From their time in uniform to their everyday contributions in our neighborhoods, veterans embody service in so many forms. Patch and T-Mobile have teamed up to share stories of veterans making a difference in the places we call home.

This story highlights Joseph Cusano of Stratford, a United States Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class (E-4). To share your own message of gratitude, click here to answer a few questions and we'll take it from there.

Tell us about the veteran's service.

Joseph served on active duty from September 2006 until September 2011. During that time, he served at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, in two roles: one as part of the Brigade Medical Unit and the other as Medical Records Manager at the Naval Health Clinic. He then served in Quantico, VA, where he was attached to the Infantry Officer Candidate School as their Field Corpsman. He made the selfless decision to join the Navy in an effort to serve the country during two ongoing wars. Once he was honorably separated from active duty in 2011, he went on to earn his undergraduate degree from Quinnipiac University and a master’s degree from the University of New Haven. In an effort to continue serving his community, he became a police officer in 2016 for the Town of Darien, CT, where he is currently assigned to the Detective Division as the Youth Detective. While having pride in the things he has achieved so far, he’s found the most pride in being a husband and father to two boys.

What makes the veteran someone your community should know about?

After serving the country, he continued to serve the community as a police officer. He designed a police patch, approved by the Chief of Police, for all officers in his department to wear during the month of May to honor veterans. He also implemented and maintains a plaque displayed in the department’s lobby honoring every police officer employed by the town who was a veteran. The plaque lists their names and branches of service in chronological order.

Lastly, he serves as the liaison between the police department and the Department of Veterans Affairs to maintain the grounds at Spring Grove Veterans Cemetery across the street from the police station. This includes ensuring flags are displayed at each headstone for Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

What three words best describe the veteran?

Courageous, guardian, compassionate.

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