TOH Closing Veteran Help Center

Governor David Patterson's Director of Veterans' Affairs Director, Mr. James McDonough, has just dictated the closing of Nassau County's only military veterans counseling and veterans information facility on the main floor of the Town of Hempstead's headquarters building in Hempstead. Mr. Nathan King is no longer able to answer questions from veterans seeking information, and our veterans have no help in navigating the avalanche of paperwork associated with obtaining veterans benefits that were promised them when they risked their lives defending our freedoms and our well being.

Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray led a protest rally a week ago Thursday on June 25th. A sizeable group of veterans and other interested parties were there to voice their protests, including members of Garden City's American Legion Post. Kate Murray issued a strongly worded statement, saying that we should all be shocked that Nassau County, with more than 100,000 veterans - the second largest military veteran population in the State of New York - will now be the only major county without a veteran's counseling center. In a letter to veterans, Supervisor Murray stated, "It's an insult to you, all of the other veterans and the surviving spouses of vets who have served this nation with bravery and courage."

Garden City American Legion Commander John Donovan states, "I think we should all be outraged at Governor Patterson's demeaning attitude towards our veterans. These are men and women who defended our country during World War II for 5 cents per hour and were promised veterans benefits when they got old. When I served in combat in Vietnam I made less than a dollar an hour. As Bill Evans, an aged veteran, so eloquently said at the protest rally, 'We didn't ask for anything - we served our county. They told us that if we were lucky enough to not get killed - and over half a million of us got killed, there would be benefits for us in our old age. As the great General Douglas MacArthur once said, old soldiers don't die, they just fade away.' We all know how many modern health insurance companies harass us by repeatedly denying valid claims until a lot of people give up filing claims. I don't know if Governor Patterson is hoping to unfairly cut spending by denying help to veterans trying to ask for promised benefits or not, but I can't help but draw a parallel here. This is not a high cost, huge overhead operation. It is essentially one man there to help our veterans, and the door should not be slammed in our faces by Governor Patterson and his head of Veterans' Affairs."

Almost 1,500 households out of 7,400 households in Garden City are veterans' households according to veterans' property tax exemption statistics with the village. American Legion Commander John Donovan joins Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray in encouraging every resident to spend a quick moment to write letters of protest to Governor David Paterson, State of New York Executive Chambers, Albany, NY 12224 and to Mr. James McDonough, Director, NYS Division of Veterans' Affairs, 5 Empire State Plaza, 28th Floor, Albany, NY 12223-1551. In their words, the only things these politicians understand are protest letters and telephone calls, and old soldiers should not have to just fade away.