The Village of New Hyde Park voted on Tuesday to designate the town as a Purple Heart Community, joining several other towns on Long Island as well as Nassau County that have recognized veterans who were injured or killed protecting this country.
The board was persuaded to take action by members of the Long Island chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, who have been lobbying for a physical memorial in Memorial Park
“It’s very important that our patriots will always be remembered and not forgotten,” said Bob Chaiponne, commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart Long Island Chapter. “That’s why the Military Order of the Purple Heart is always there for our brothers and sisters.”
The project was proposed to the village by Mike Dolan, a Vietnam veteran and retired marine.
The current state Memorial Park where Dolan and the veterans want a memorial site is badly in need of repairs.
“I know [the village] did a lot of work to the tennis courts but the rest is in bad shape,” Dolan said. “The area around [the flagpole], there’s no flowers.”
The board postponed a decision on where in the park the memorial will be located in the absence of Deputy Village Mayor Lawrence Montreuil, who also acts as the liaison for the veterans groups.
Mayor Robert A. Lofaro said he did not want to move forward with the logistics of a physical monument without Montreuil’s input.
“We will work with Mike and we’ll work with our veterans group on doing the proper recognition,” said Lofaro of the location.
Dolan said he will meet with Montreuil this Saturday to further discuss plans for a monument.
A formal announcement and ceremony for the Purple Heart community designation will take place at the Street Fair on Sept. 19, Lofaro said.
“We think that’s probably the best place to do it,” said Lofaro. “We have nearly 30,000 people that come to the Village of New Hyde Park on Sept. 19 for the street fair.”
