Memorial Day ceremonies took place at monuments around Riverhead Monday, where veterans groups, elected officials, fire, police and emergency medical services, elected officials, the Riverhead High School NJROTC, Scout troops, and other local residents gathered to remember and honor those who have laid down their lives in service to our country during all wars.
The ceremonies and parade are organized annually by the Riverhead Combined Veterans Committee. Its members place wreaths at each of the war monuments in town: the World War I Monument on the corner of Court Street and West Main Street; St. John the Evangelist Cemetery; the Civil War Monument at Riverhead Cemetery; the World War II Monument on the corner of Osborn Avenue and Pulaski Street, which is dedicated to all those who gave their lives during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the conflicts in Panama, Grenada, and the Middle East. Each of the ceremonies also included prayers, a rifle salute and “Taps.”
The participating groups, along with the Riverhead High School marching band, marched in the annual Memorial Day parade, which traversed downtown from monument to monument.
“Today, we remember the sacrifice made and debt we cannot repay,” Veterans of Foreign Wars Van Rensselaer- Skidmore Post 2476 Commander Thomas Najdzion said. “Today, we honor the families of those who have lost loved ones while serving our great nation. We also honor and comfort the walking wounded who are still with us and help and support their families as well,” Najdzion said in remarks at the World War II monument.
“We reflect on some important milestones in our history,” Najdzion said, listing significant dates in American military history, such as the beginning or end of various wars and armed conflicts, from the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, to the World War I and World War II, to the Korean War, the Vietnam War and those of more recent times, including the Gulf War, the Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan.
“On Memorial Day, please pray for the safety of all of our men and women in all of our branches of the military —the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force, the Coast Guard and our newest branch, the Space Force,” Najdzion said.
Supervisor Tim Hubbard in a speech during the concluding ceremony at the War Memorial on Osborn and Pulaski, urged the community to remember especially the people of Riverhead “who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation.”
Riverhead has lost a number of its native sons in all the major wars and conflicts in which the U.S. has been involved, with the toll greatest in the Civil War.
“On this Memorial Day, we pause not only to remember their names, but to reflect on the profound impact their courage and selflessness have had on our community and our country,” Hubbard said. “We must always pay special tribute to the veterans of Riverhead who lost their lives, our neighbors, friends and family members, whose contributions have truly shaped not only our town, but the very fabric of the United States of America,” Hubbard said.
The supervisor also stressed the importance of honoring the nation’s veterans —”not just today, but every day.”
“Let us teach future generations about their sacrifices, to support our veterans and their families and work together to build a nation and a town worthy of their service. On this Memorial Day, may we pledge to keep their stories and sacrifice alive,” he said.
Civil War:
- Albern W. Case
- John A. Brown
- Mose W. Overton
- Robert L. Burns
- Minor B. Reeve
- John Downs
- William G. Albertson
- John Darrow
- Charles R. Lane
- Richard E. Robinson
- Francis D. Masin
- Nathaniel Hempstead
- David E. Dayton
- Harrison Norton
- Parmanas Terry
- Joseph Overton
- Francis E. Doane
- Dennis Lynch
- George W. Downs
- Hugh R. Pugh
- Robert Henry
- George D. Williamson
World War I:
- Van Rensselaer Skidmore
- Anton Zakas
- Charles E. Chituk
- George L. Tuthill
- John Haupt
- Cornelius Keenan
- Joseph Bonczyk
World War II:
- Army PFC Theodore Densieski
- Army Air Corps Capt. Victor S. Doroski
- Army PFC Malcolm Hinksman
- Army Air Force Lt. Wesley Steven Kozenka
- Army Pvt. Karl E. Lewin
- Army Air Corps 2d Lt. Theophil Polakiewicz
- Navy S2 Thomas F. Truskoski
Korea:
- Army PFC Alfred W. Melvin Jr. (1953)
Vietnam:
- Army Pvt. John Krukoski Jr
- Army PFC Garfield M. Langhorn
- Navy MM2 Lowell Wayne Meyer
- AMH3 Richard T. Pinta
- Army SP4 Franklin Tinsley
- Army SP4 James Reese Walters
Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan:
- Army National Guard Sgt. Jonathan Keller
- Army SFC Anthony Venetz Jr.
Operation Inherent Resolve, Iraq:
- Air National Guard Tech. Sgt Dashan J. Briggs
Editor’s note: If you know of a Riverhead Town resident who died while in military service who is not listed here, please email the editor, so we can confirm and add their name to the list. Special thanks to Wendy Polhemus-Annibell, head librarian at the Suffolk County Historical Society, and Brenda Prusinowski of Riverhead for their assistance.
Reporting and photos by Emil Breitenbach Jr.
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