Soldiers Welcomed, Remembered at Shelter Island Event

Soldiers from platoon will land on Shelter Island on Thursday, and they're staying for a few days.

Lt. Theinert, 24-year-old Shelter Island native, fought with the Banshee Troop, 1st Squadron, 71st Calvary Battalion of the 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, before he died last June while on foot patrol in Afghanistan — the first serviceman from the Island to be killed in combat since the Vietnam War.

Members of the Freedom Riders Motorcycle Club will escort the soldiers from Fort Drum upstate via County Road 39 to Montauk Highway and pass through Water Mill, Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor. They will then ride across the Jordan Hearter Veterans Memorial bridge and travel through North Haven to the South Ferry.

Once on Shelter Island they will be greeted by members of the and travel along , a recently renamed section of Route 114, to the American Legion Hall for a welcoming ceremony, which will be followed by a pulled pork dinner.

The events are free and open to the public. More events over the weekend are planned to honor the soldiers and to remember Lt. Theinert and Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter of Sag Harbor, who was killed in Iraq in 2008 at the age of 19.

Stay tuned to Patch for coverage of the event.