A semipostal stamp honoring Riverhead Medal of Honor recipient PFC Garfield Langhorn will raise funds to assist low-income veteran families if legislation introduced yesterday by Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) becomes law.
Zeldin introduced the legislation yesterday, the 52d anniversary of Langhorn’s death in Pleiku Province, Vietnam.
A semipostal stamp is a stamp sold at a premium price, which covers the cost of postage and directs the excess revenue to a nationally recognized cause, Zeldin said in a press release yesterday.
The excess money from the PFC Langhorn stamp would go to the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program in the Department of Veterans Affairs. The program offers assistance to very low-income veteran families who are in the process of transitioning to permanent housing, according to the press release. The program provides grants to private nonprofits that provide services to promote housing stability for veteran families.
“In his final heroic act, 20-year-old PFC Langhorn selflessly sacrificed his own life to save his fellow soldiers, throwing himself on a live grenade to save his platoon mates,” Zeldin said.
“For his extraordinary act of bravery, he received a series of awards, including the highest, most prestigious personal military decoration – the Medal of Honor — and, most recently, the Riverhead Post Office was dedicated in his name,” he said.
“However, there is no better way to honor PFC Langhorn than remembering his sacrifice and continuing to give back to our nation’s brave servicemen and women. It is only fitting that this legislation to honor his memory also helps provide additional funding to veterans in need.”
For his sacrifice and service to our nation, PFC Langhorn received the Purple Heart and the highest and most prestigious personal military decoration – the Medal of Honor. PFC Langhorn is the only Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient from Suffolk County. Most recently, in 2010, the Riverhead Post Office was named in his honor.
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