Veterans Day: Paying tribute to their service on Long Island, despite government shutdown

Visitors to Calverton National Cemetery on Veterans Day were not greeted with the traditional American flags adorning the grounds. 

The cemetery was open to visitors Tuesday but did not have the federal funding during the government shutdown to hold a ceremony or decorate the property.

"It is with great regret that we announce that due to the ongoing federal government funding lapse, it is necessary to cancel the 2025 Veterans Day Ceremony previously planned for Calverton National Cemetery ... even if the lapse in appropriations ended imminently the cemetery would no longer have the time necessary to prepare the grounds and procure the assets necessary to conduct a proper ceremony," the cemetery said on Facebook.

Instead, the Riverhead Police Benevolent Association arranged for a giant flag to be raised outside the cemetery on Middle Country Road between two ladder trucks from the Riverhead and Jamesport fire departments.

Riverhead PBA vice president John Morris said the canceled ceremony "doesn't sit well with me. I'm the son of a veteran, and I work with veterans and active military in the Riverhead Police Department. And so I felt as though we needed to do something to honor our military personnel and our veterans."

Despite the shutdown, Long Islanders found a way to pay tribute to veterans.

Veterans groups at VFW Halls and American Legion posts across Long Island held ceremonies to honor service members and those who served their country in the military at home and abroad. In Port Washington, local officials held a Veterans Day parade including poetry, music and horses with the Nassau County Mounted Patrol. 

At Greenlawn Cemetery in Wyandanch, dozens gathered around the grave markers of four Civil War soldiers in what was believed to be the first Veterans Day ceremony to honor the men, whose remains were reinterred in 1903 from a cemetery belonging to the Bridge Street AWME Church in Brooklyn. The soldiers, who were farmers, served in the 20th and 26th regiments of the United States Colored Troops and survived the war.

At Calverton, Lorna Lohman, 77, of East Patchogue, came to rake the leaves off the grave of her husband Charles Lohman, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. Her husband’s remains were buried at Calverton after he died last year while on vacation in the Philippines.

"I cried when I entered the cemetery," Lohman said after driving under the hoisted flag. "It’s sad they don’t have anyone to be here."

She said the cemetery has not been maintained during the past 41 days. Faded flowers, usually removed monthly, were still on the graves, and the grass was now slightly overgrown. Lohman cleaned up the area around her husband's grave and left a flag for Veterans Day.

"I promised I'll be here every week as long as I can," Lohman said. "I love my husband and I want it to look nice. I don't want him to look neglected."

Several drivers passed by honking their horns in support as they saw the police and fire trucks parked along the side of the road at the cemetery’s entrance.

"This is about remembering our veterans, asking some of our veterans to tell us some of the stories of things that they did when they were serving our great country," said Riverhead police Officer Kevin Thomas, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

Joe Guggino, 81, of Shoreham, was an infantry sergeant in the Marines, dispatched during the Cuban missile crisis and to Vietnam from 1965-66. He came to Calverton Tuesday with his daughters and grandchildren to visit his wife’s gave, who supported him during his service.

He said it was important to pay respects at the cemetery, regardless of the government shutdown.

"I know what all of us went through and have a remembrance and appreciation for what they did," Guggino said. "It would be unconscionable not to. The people here have nothing for do with what's happening now with the politics."

James Smith Jr., 62, of Brentwood, and his father, James Smith, 82, of Bay Shore, arrived separately and embraced to visit the elder James G. Smith, who served in the U.S. Army in World War II in France and Germany.

The father and son left an American flag and a flag-shaped wreath bouquet at his grave before planning to visit two of Smith Sr.’s brothers’ graves at Calverton.

"He helped build this country and what he did in service was instilled in me as a young man," Smith Sr. said. "They had a belief in the USA and this is the homeland and said we will protect the homeland."

George Hettesheimer, 64, of Port Jefferson Station, and his wife Lisa came to leave flags for their fathers who both served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

"It was sad you don't see flags lining up the roads and there’s usually a big ceremony. It was nice for the police fire department to step up," Hettesheimer said.

"It shows what veterans did for our country," Lisa Hettesheimer said. "They shouldn't be forgotten. They should never be forgotten."

Newsday's Denise Bonilla contributed to this story.