Islandia Village Honors Its Veterans

 The Village of Islandia held its sixth annual Veterans Memorial Day ceremony at the Veterans War Memorial on Saturday.

Local residents gathered at the intersection of Old Nichols Road and Johnson Avenue for a brief but meaningful ceremony. Mayor Allan Dorman said the memorial has visual significance to the community, from the five-pointed star representing the different branches of the United States armed forces - Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard - topped by a pillar bearing an eternal flame. Three flagpoles fly the Village of Islandia, Prisoners of War and American flags.

The newest addition to the memorial is an engraved plaque specifically honoring Islandia's veterans, that will be inscribed with their names over the upcoming month.

The poem "A Nation's Strength" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, which states how it is a nation's men and their strength that is its foundation was read.

After the ceremony, residents were invited back to Islandia Village Hall to touch and step inside a Vietnam era UH-34D helicopter presented by the United States Marine Corps' Helicopter Squadron 361 of Cutchogue's Freedom's Flying Memorial.

"This machine took wounded soldiers out of harm's way and provided supplies to our troops. I helped evacuate fellow Marines and Medevaced wounded soldiers to safety," Dorman said, a former combat veteran with the U.S. Marine Corps.

Children and adults alike lined up to spent a moment as "pit crew" of the helicopter named "Gracious Lady Bev." It has served three tours in Vietnam from 1963 to 1969.  Crew said it was primarily used to rescue wounded, injured and dead.