The Town of Huntington will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end to the Vietnam War with a special breakfast June 11 in Melville, followed by the official unveiling of the plaque with the newest names added to the Vietnam War Memorial at Town hall later that afternoon.
The breakfast, which will begin at 9:30 a.m. the Melville Marriott, will include performances by the Island Symphony Orchestra and renowned tenor Christopher Macchio. The Town expects many Vietnam veterans, their families and friends to attend the breakfast. The cost is $28 a person, and a portion of the proceeds, as well as all of the proceeds raised from an event journal, will be earmarked to benefit veterans, active soldiers and their families in crisis and for programs that honor and benefit veterans of all wars.
At 2 p.m., the Town will hold the ceremony unveiling the plaque with the 378 names that are being added to the Vietnam War Memorial, bringing the total number of names to 1,490. Originally unveiled in 2003, the wall lists the names of Vietnam War era veterans who live or lived in Huntington. That includes persons on the original three plaques and those who were added in the subsequent five years before the wall was closed in 2008 and a fourth plaque was installed. In 2013, representatives from the Huntington High School Class of 1964 reunion committee approached Supervisor Frank P. Petrone about the possibility of reopening the wall to add names of about 20 of their classmates. The Supervisor determined that there was room for the wall to accommodate additional names and opened the wall for an additional period that ended December 31, 2014.
Persons seeking more information should contact the Town’s veterans affairs coordinator, Carol Rocco, at 631-351-3012 or crocco@huntingtonny.gov.
In the photo: Supervisor Frank P. Petrone with members of the Huntington High School Class of 1964 reunion committee, announcing the reopening of the Vietnam War Memorial in October 2013.