Veterans Day Ceremony in Long Beach Highlights Families

“They told me that we can keep you here forever/They told me that my parents died, that my kids were grown and gone, that my wife lost hope and married my best friend,” Howard Kalachman, commander of American Legion Post 972 in Long Beach, read from a POW/MIA prayer.

These family-oriented lines evoked a theme that ran throughout speeches that others gave at the Veterans Day ceremony in the city that started minutes before 11 a.m. Monday.

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Monday's ceremony, held at Kennedy Plaza where a giant American flag hangs over the front of City Hall, drew more than 100 people, one of whom was Paul Wagner. A Long Beach resident, Wagner remembered the many members of his family who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, including his father, John, on the destroyer USS Hickox during World War II, and his brother Billy, who was killed in combat in Vietnam in 1968.   

“These gentleman I know love this country more than anything,” Wagner told the crowd. “Their families stood behind them and always come out to make sure they’re never forgotten. So I think we should sit back and realize the sacrifices that they’ve made and take time to thank each and every one of our veterans every day, not only on Veterans Day.”

Omar Karom, the commander of AMVETS South Shore Post 100 in Long Beach who led the ceremony, invited Nassau County Legis. Denise Ford to address her fellow Long Beach residents. She urged them to recognize not only the danger the veterans faced in combat in wars overseas, but also the comforts they left behind, whether those were spending the holidays with their families, taking their children to school, or coaching them in football leagues.

“We who have enjoyed the comforts of the freedoms that we have, because of their sacrifice, must always remember that we should do whatever we can to help and support the veterans here in America,” Ford said. “... They answered the call to protect America, are you going to answer the call to help support and protect them and their families as well?”

While Dan MacPhee, commander of Long Beach’s VFW Post 1384, led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance to start the ceremony, Long Beach High School senior Alexandra Brodsky sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America.”

When the clock struck 11 a.m., veterans fired rifles to mark the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month that commemorates the last shots fired during World War I to end the conflict in 1918. Veterans Day, which honors all American veterans living and deceased, originated when President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. Veterans Day became a legal holiday in 1938. 

Councilwoman Fran Adelson, who in her speech noted that her father was a World War II veteran, recounted some of this history and invoked the veterans.

“Today is the day that we make it a point,” she said, “to be particularly appreciative of the sacrifices that they’ve made and the bravery they have exhibited.”