American Legion visits vets in E.M. care center
Originally published in
LI Herald
Members of the American Legion and the veterans from the center stood in front of the wall that Aaliyah Bilal made. Photo Credit: MALLORY WILSON/HERALD
The East Meadow American Legion Post 1082 donned their uniforms on Saturday to visit veterans at the Fulton Commons Care Center on Merrick Avenue in East Meadow. The E.M. crew went to thank the vets just two days after Veteran’s Day.
Veteran’s Day is a day for thanking those who served and honoring them and that’s just what the legion did.
“I wanted to do something special for our veterans here and I wanted them to talk to someone from outside,” Aaliyah Bilal, a recreation leader at Fulton said. “Because of the whole Covid pandemic, it’s been very rough on a lot of us and I wanted to do something for Veteran’s Day.”
“Thank you Pete for bringing us all together,” State Senator Kevin Thomas said. “In the state government, we want to do everything that we can for veterans and their families because you went out there and you risked your lives and your families put up with a lot to just give us the rights that we have and the freedoms that we have.”
Thomas, who immigrated to the United States when he was 10 years old, said he wouldn’t have been able to make it as far as he has in government if it wasn’t for veterans.
“I wouldn’t be standing in front of you as a state senator if it wasn’t for all of your sacrifices,” he said.
Wenninger then took a moment to explain the American Legion’s role. “Our politicians, they do a fine job but they need to know how they’re doing and any ideas you have is good to have,” he said. “And that is what we try to do at the American Legion. We try to lobby for vets and make sure we get the best of care because after all, we cared the best for our country.”