Veterans Day on Long Island: Where help is available for thousands who served

Long Island's more than 81,000 military veterans live in a region with a larger population of retired military members than most parts of the country and a support system of volunteers and public agencies for those who need assistance.

In Nassau and Suffolk, Veterans Day on Monday also will serve as a backdrop for efforts aimed at providing that assistance and encouraging vets to reach out to learn about benefits and services, including for medical care, mental health treatment and housing eligibility.

"What I want to make clear to the [veteran] community" is there is help available," said Marcelle Leis, director of the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency.

"As a veteran myself, our culture is we don't ask for help," said Leis, who served in the New York Air National Guard for 24 years until 2013.

"The misconception is that they're taking benefits away from somebody else," she added. "We encourage all veterans to go the VA and at least apply and get that [benefits] card. That's federal dollars that come back to the community. You're not taking anything away from them; you're only adding to them."

For Ralph Esposito, director of the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency, "the biggest thing today is homelessness" among veterans. He's also concerned about suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder and other service-related illnesses.

Both agency directors said their offices help veterans apply for benefits, and refer them to any services or resources they may need.

Large in numbers

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2023 1-year American Community Survey, there were an estimated 31,582 veterans in Nassau County, of which 29,173 were men and 2,409 were women. Suffolk County had an estimated 49,650 veterans, 46,848 of which were men and 2,802 women.

When Long Island is looked at on a county level, Leis said, "We are the largest population of veterans ... in the state of New York." 

Census estimates for the five New York City boroughs totaled 113,638 in 2023, but none of the boroughs had a veteran population larger than either Nassau or Suffolk.

And overall, the metropolitan New York region's veteran population total is second only to San Diego, California, which has 240,000 veterans, several Long Island officials noted. San Diego, a historic U.S. military port, also has major Navy and Marine Corps bases in the area. The nearest large military bases to Long Island are upstate Fort Drum and in Central New Jersey.

Esposito, 80 and himself a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War, said he began a food pantry for other former military members in 2015.

"It started with 10 to 12 a week. Now I'm doing like 1,600 to 1,700 a month, unfortunately. ... That breaks my heart," he said.

Vets in need

He also oversees a "stand down" for veterans twice a year — the next one is set for Nov. 26 at the Freeport Armory, where food and clothing will be distributed in the drive-through. The summer stand down is usually where organizations provide myriad services, Esposito said, including for aging vets, income tax help, "any organization you can think of in the county — set tables up and our veterans go from table to table to see what they need."

Leis said "there are a lot of needs" among veterans, citing the elderly cohort who served in World War II and Korea. "Unfortunately, we're losing them. Those still living are looking to access services, social support and eventually nursing care. We work to get veterans into the Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook."

Vietnam veterans are the largest group of former service members her agency currently assists, Leis said.

"That population is also aging. ... We offer social support, and more importantly, we offer them the opportunity to come to the agency to find out what they are eligible for," citing as an example compensation and pension claims for service-connected disability.

The Census Bureau estimates there were 21,191 Vietnam vets in Suffolk in 2023, or 42.7% of the county's total veteran population; and 14,535, or 46% of Vietnam vets in Nassau.

Kerry Englander, commander of the Nassau County American Legion, which he said has 52 local posts, and Ralph Casey, vice commander, raised concerns of older members falling away from the posts, due to death and illness, and cited the difficulty in attracting younger veterans.

'An aging group'

Englander, 78, a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War from Levittown, said of an estimated 6,000 Legion membership across Long Island: "It's an aging group. There seems to be a lack of the new generation coming in. We're hoping the Iraq and Afghanistan service people will come in. ... We would like to have more [younger veterans]. We are capturing them, but not in the number that we'd like."

He added, "A lot of these men are older now and its hard for them to get there [local posts], but they continuously keep their membership up."

Still, Englander said the Legion has had some success in revitalizing once-inactive local posts. Between efforts of the county American Legion and the individual posts, they were able to attract younger veterans to reinvigorate those locations, he said.

"We brought two posts back. They were ready to fall off, but we saved them," citing Oceanside Memorial American Legion Post No. 1246 and the Archie McCord American Legion Post No. 86 in Bethpage. 

Englander said any veterans interested in joining can go to nylegion.net to find a local post.

Casey, of Glen Cove, said in a separate interview that for veterans coming back to civilian society, local American Legion posts were the "ideal place for them to be. ... We do a lot of charity work" that helps veterans.

Casey, 86, who served in the Army during the Vietnam War, said suicide among veterans greatly concerned him. He said a friend, a Vietnam veteran, recently attempted suicide, the second attempt this year. Casey said his friend is "doing better because he's had a lot of support."

On its website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that "veterans have an adjusted suicide rate that is 57.3% greater than the nonveteran U.S. adult population." And in testimony before a Congressional Veterans Affairs subcommittee in 2022, Christopher M. Jones, then the CDC's acting director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, said: "Tragically, out of the 130 suicides per day in 2019, 17 of those lives lost were veterans." He added, "From 2001 to 2019, the rate of suicide among veterans increased nearly 36% relative to an increase of 30% in the general population."

'Soldiers are hurting'

Casey had an explanation, and it's nothing new. "Soldiers are hurting out there," he said. 

He recalled how many Vietnam veterans faced hostility when they returned stateside from serving in the unpopular war.

"There was a lot of bitterness" that he said "led to suicides."

Casey supports state legislation to raise awareness about suicide among veterans, particularly a bill that would recognize a Suicide Awareness and Remembrance Flag created by Long Island Air Force vet Kevin Hertell.

Assemb. Charles Lavine, D-Glen Cove, recalled his conversations with Casey. "Ralph is very interested in bills that have to do with veterans and veterans suicide," Lavine said.

While not a sponsor of the flag bill, Lavine said it was "certainly something that I personally approve of." He said the bill's sponsor, Aileen Gunther (D-Orange County), is leaving the legislature before the next session, and Lavine planned to be a co-sponsor "no matter who is prime sponsor when we return to session." 

He said the State Legislature has increased money for homeless veterans housing programs, adding $1.1 million above the 2023 appropriation; adding $500,000 for the Veterans Memorial Registry, inviting municipalities to request any veterans memorials they have be added to the state registry; and adding $900,000 for state veterans cemeteries. 

When it comes to helping those who served, Lavine added, it's never partisan in Albany.

"In the nearly 20 years I have served in the State Legislature," he said, "I have not seen any difference of opinion on either side when it comes to promoting and protecting our veterans."

By Olivia Winslow

olivia.winslow@newsday.com@newsollie