In Greenwich a new organization has been formed to coordinate and publicize events involving veterans. According to Bruce Winningham of the Greenwich Military Covenant of Care, “Peter Tesei has wisely worked with State Rep Livvy Floren, Erf Porter, Dept of Social Services Alan Barry and Greenwich Police chief Jim Heavey in recognizing the need for coordination among various organizations that serve veterans and people in military service.”
Winningham said the Greenwich Veterans Council was conceived last Jan and Feb. It brings together all the obvious folks, American Legion, Byram Veterans Assocation, VFW, Greenwich Military Covenant of Care and the Greenwich Dept of Social Services. In May the group cohesively communicated Memorial Day events and the results were impressive.
“The numbers were very encouraging because we publicized each other’s events and were mindful of each other’s events and what they were trying to say and do,” he said. “The idea was to be respectful for each other’s timing and publicize events as a group.”
Winningham said the result was a significant increases in attendance despite the fact that most events were rescheduled due to rain. “Even with the disruption, with a day change, attendance went up,” he said.
This year that planning is coming to fruition for Veterans Day on November 11, and the new organization is collaborating on four events:
• The Community Walk will culminate in one single ceremony, which is called The Greenwich Veterans Council Veterans Day Ceremony.
• The ceremony, immediately following the walk, will be located at the Vietnam/Korea/WWII memorial in front of the Havemeyer building.
The walk starts sharply at 10:30am at the intersection of upper Greenwich Ave and Amogerone Crossway.
“At Havemeyer, we have the closed street and it becomes an open community space,” Winningham said. “It is a festive and comforting place to stand.”
• At Redmens Hall there will be a luncheon for veterans. “If you wore a military uniform at all, you are welcome to lunch at Redmens Hall,” Winningham said. “Spouses and family members are invited along as well.”
• The Byram Veterans are holding an event at 7:00pm on Delavan Ave at the Byram Vets Hall which includes a march followed by a presentation, speeches and discussion.
“Each year we have a theme beyond the the community walk,” Winningham said. “This year it is the theme of the Greenwich Veterans Council will be to bring attention to an under noticed body of people – the hundreds of thousands of combat injured millennials who have been fighting in a 15-year long war. We’re in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Libya.”
Winningham said more and more mothers of deployed sons and daughters are told by their children, “I can’t tell you where I am.”
“More and more fighting is not brigades and battalions on bases, but smaller and smaller units and more transient units,” he said. “Many of the injuries suffered in this war would have never been survived in past wars. You would have died Iwo Jima, Mekong Delta, or the Ardennes Forest (Battle of the Bulge) in places where horrible suffering and battlefield injuries – they wouldn’t have come back in other wars,” he said adding that the medical profession is seeing people with injuries unseen before because these injuries wouldn’t have been survived.
Today, the injuries of millennials in combat is different. Independently exploded devices (IEDs) cause injuries resulting in more amputees. “In the past you would have bled to death,” Winningham said.
Winningham said that instead of coming home to fluttering flags and welcome home ceremonies, “these kids are injured combatants combing back on a stretcher in a cargo plane and hurried over to Walter Reed hospital to recovery periods that usually last one to two years.”
Winningham said that at Walter Reed, the rehabilitation centers are extraordinary, and the center has become known known for its expertise in war wounds.
“Combatants are sent from all over the world now,” he said of Walter Reed Medical Center. “If you walk along the property there many of the buildings are residential because if you’re going to be there for two years, they provide room for your family.”
Winningham said the newly formed group is working with Disabled American Veterans (DAV ) and asking for combat veterans living in Greenwich (WWII, Vietnam and any conflicts) to travel with DAV to Walter Reed. “There they can tell these young men and women, ‘We know you’re here and respect you and support you in this journey of healing.”
The group is also raising funds to buy gift cards that can be used on the stores on the base of Walter Reed where the veterans live. The cards will defray costs, as most of the severely wounded are enlisted rather than officers.
“Every time we have 50 cards that are worth $80, we will send a van with Greenwich Combat Veterans to bring those cards and give them to recovering, healing veterans,” Winningham said. In addition to the gift cards the group will bring greeting cards with well-wishing comments to the recipients of the gift card.
See also: Veterans Day in Greenwich to Feature Multiple Ceremonies
PHOTOS: 2015 Veteran’s Day Community Walk and Ceremony
Greenwich First Selectman Tesei to Form Veterans Council
Greenwich Woman’s Veterans Day Request: Honor Ferdinand Meringolo and All “The Forgotten Men”
Nov. 11 Community Walk to Honor Local Vietnam Veterans (2015)
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