Clarkstown To Veterans: Thanks For Your Service

Clarkstown has a message for its veterans this Memorial Day weekend: "Thanks for our freedom. And, thanks for your sacrifice."

That message came across loud and clear along with patriotic songs and a salute to the flag at the town's Memorial Day service Friday at Street School Community Center in New City, where Clarkstown has a series of monuments that pay tribute to local residents who gave their lives for the cause of freedom.

More than 300 people gathered for the annual service, which includes placing memorial wreaths at monuments that honor fallen residents from World War II right on through to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Operation Desert Storm and the war on terrorism.

For local veterans such as William Mahan of New City, who served as the emcee for Friday's services, Memorial Days remembrances not only are a way of honoring the town's veterans and fallen heroes, but they serve as a way of teaching young people about the sacrifices of those who have served in the armed forces – or are serving in the armed forces today.

"It's important that the next generation understands the sacrifices that have been made," said Mahan, a member of William E. De Bevoise Jr. American Legion Post 1682 in New City.

The Legion post also sponsors Monday's Memorial Day Parade in New City, which kicks off about 10 a.m. and runs from the old Bradlee's shopping center on Main Street to the Rockland County Courthouse in downtown New City. Additionally, the New City Fire Department has a Memorial Day service at the firehouse on Maple Avenue – just a block over from the courthouse. Rockland County Legislator Ed Day, R-New City, is the keynote speaker for the Fire Department service.

At Friday's town Memorial Day service, speeches by community leaders put focus on the efforts of ordinary citizens who were called to defend the nation in extraordinary times.

"We as a nation must never forget to remember the countless men and women who had the courage to put their lives on the line for the cause of freedom," said the Rev. William Cosgrove, pastor of St. Augustine's Church on Main Street in New City. "We honor the fallen, but we should also remember those who have taken the same pledge to defend our freedom today."

As we pause to honor those who served the nation, Cosgrove urged participants in Friday's ceremonies to remember what has been accomplished by the efforts of those who have fallen. "Without a U.S. military, the world would be a far more darker place," Cosgrove said.

Friday's service  also brought back very personal memories of service to the nation by veterans.

As Clarkstown town Supervisor Alexander Gromack told veterans "Thanks you for your service" Friday, he was also thinking of his own father, the late Alexander Gromack, who was a tail gunner in a torpedo bomber flying off a U.S. aircraft carrier in the South Pacific during World War II.

"My father was a very proud veteran, but he didn't wear it on his sleeve," said Gromack, noting that many of the survivors of war do not like to talk about their experiences.

Gromack recalled that it was only after his father's death that his own daughter, now 17, began learning about the exploits of her grandfather during World War II. "I told my daughter that her grandfather was a hero – like every other veteran here today," Gromack said.

Thinking of his father, Gromack encouraged participants in Friday's service to take time this weekend to say "Thanks for your service" to members of the community who are veterans.

Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef said that it was the experience his father had during World War II that helped him understand the extent of the sacrifices veterans have made. He recalled that his father, Kent Vanderhoef, now 88, served in the Navy and was stationed in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to fight Japanese submarines.

In the Aleutians, men like Kent Vanderhoef had to battle grueling environmental conditions and killer seas during long patrols. After speaking at Friday's service, Vanderhoef went to visit with his father.

Friday's service included a honor guard composed of Rockland Korean War Veterans and members of the Marine Corps League. After the service, participants gathered for a party in the Street School Community Center. While the stone monuments outside the community center were a key focus of the service, a perhaps lesser known tribute inside the community center got the attention of many of the service's participants.

The hallway leading to the community center's auditorium is lined with hundreds of photos of local residents from their days in the military. The "Hallway of Heroes" shows off medals and citations earned by several generations of Clarkstown residents.

Many stopped to read the citations and look at the young faces in the photos – not much different from the photos of young people today who are fighting in the war on terror.