Local Vets Reflect During Remembrance Ceremonies

Guy Zinser, 62, remembers bits and pieces of the year he served in the Vietnam War, but there are gaps in his memory.

"Or just parts of it I don't care to remember, I guess," he said.

He was drafted to serve, and was sent to North Vietnam, where they weren't engaged in jungle warfare, as he describes it, but when his time was up, he decided against a military career.

"What's that old expression? It was a million dollar experience that you'd pay two million to not have again," said Zinser, a Somers resident who now serves as the American Legion Commander of Post 1575 in Katonah.

The American Legion—a national organization with local centers that provide social and political support to veterans—has three million members in over 14,000 posts worldwide, according to the national website. There are 112 members in Katonah who have served in one or more of America's military efforts.

Their membership is graying, and though they'd like to see younger members become involved, Zinser said he understands why younger returning soldiers don't join.

"When you first get back, you want to forget. You need to take time to re-acclimate to your life and your family and community," he said.

Zinser counts himself as one of the lucky ones. He escaped with no physical injuries and returned to the states alongside the five friends with whom he went to Vietnam. But he knew of other families in his hometown of Somers who lost sons and fathers.

Though Zinser's own memories have clouded over, he participates in the American Legion POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony several times a year, to remember other soldiers who have lost their lives. The ceremony is reserved for special occasions and holidays, such as Memorial Day, and today—Veteran's Day.

During a Legion gathering, a table is set symbolically for one soldier—to represents the men and women missing in action.

Click on the video posted with this story to hear more about the ceremony from Zinser and American Legion officer Carlo Marotta, 70, also a Vietnam veteran. The full text of the ceremony is also posted here.

Both Marotta and Zinser said the ceremony was significant, because it gave them a chance to remember their comrades beyond Veteran's Day, to remember their sacrifice at other times of the year.

The American Legion of Katonah will be at the flagpole in Katonah, at the intersection of The Parkway and Bedford Road, beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. 

They will stand and honor those who served until 11:30 a.m.

"We'll be there at the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, in the eleventh month," said Marlotta. "To say thank you."