Nassau Breaks Ground On Memorial To Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans

EAST MEADOW, NY — Last week, Nassau County broke ground on a new memorial at Eisenhower Park that pays tribute to the local veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On Oct. 8, which was the 20th anniversary of troops first being deployed to Afghanistan, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran was joined by the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency (VSA) and local veterans to break ground on the new war memorial. The new monument will be located at the Veterans Memorial Park in Eisenhower Park and will be the first on Long Island, and one of the first in New York, dedicated to this war and honoring the 7,000 servicemen and servicewomen who died during the recent conflicts.

“Over the past 20 years, millions of men and woman have volunteered to serve our great Nation and protect our freedoms — many of whom did not make it home," said Curran. "All those Americans deserve our deepest gratitude and recognition for their service to our country and with this memorial, we finally get to honor the next generation of Americans who have chosen to serve. Thank you to the Nassau County Council Veterans of Foreign Wars, Heroes Among Us and the other organizations partnering with us to make this monument a reality.”

The Eisenhower Park monument will honor those who served and those who died in battle, and will also serve as a tribute to the 30,000 post-9/11 veterans who have died by suicide. The memorial is being created in partnership with the Nassau County Council Veterans of Foreign Wars, which will be fundraising for the project, designing and installing the monument. A rendering of the design of the monument was created by Maia Fernandez, a 23-year-old from Franklin Square.

“We are excited to have the assistance from our community to properly respect and honor our veterans in building this monument, which we feel was overdue,” said Virginia Cervasio, the founder of Heroes Among Us.