DVA Enrollment Event
Legionnaires with Charles Wagner Post 421 attended the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Enrollment Event hosted by the William M. Gouse, Jr. VFW Post 3211 on Jan. 20. Post 421 Commander Charles Rockwood, John Mauro, PC, Joseph Messana and Greg Bennett attended along with numerous veterans and the leaders of local veterans groups.
At the enrollment event veterans signed up for Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care, had VA photo identification cards updated or issued and VA medical staff took blood pressures. Representatives of the newly opened temporary Nassau VA Vet Center in Plainview were also present to assist veterans. Matthew Rufano, the newly appointed director of the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency, was also in attendance.
Post 421 thanks Northport VA Director Phillip Moschitta for reaching out to veterans in Nassau and hopes the enrollment events will continue throughout Nassau County.
Nassau Vet Center
The DVA has established a temporary Nassau Vet Center at 1425 Old Country Road, Building H, in Plainview, in the same complex as the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency. Vet Centers provide readjustment counseling for veterans of wars or hostile actions and their families. Bereavement counseling is available for families who have lost a loved one in military service.
The American Legion encourages veterans who experience post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), flashbacks, nightmares or other combat trauma to seek readjustment counseling and file a VA disability claim. We encourage family members to seek assistance to keep the family together. We encourage women veterans who have experienced sexual trauma in the military to seek VA care. Seeking counseling and joining a veterans organization can start a healing process.
Contact Nassau Vet Center Team Leader Jeanne Morrison, MS, at 572-8452 or Alice Psirakis, LCSW, at 572-8300. We thank the Vet Center staff for their dedicated service in caring for our veterans. Nassau County, with a growing and large veterans population, deserves a permanent Nassau Vet Center.
Hicksville Heroes
Post 421 Commander Charles Rockwood and Legionnaires salute our comrades at the William M. Gouse, Jr. Hicksville VFW Post 3211 for their 75th anniversary of service to our veterans, nation and the Hicksville community. Best wishes to VFW Post Commander William Walden along with Post 3211 members and the auxiliary for many more years of dedicated service.
Meetings and Support
Charles Wagner Post 421 meets the first and third Monday of each month at the William M. Gouse Jr. VFW Post, 320 South Broadway, at 8 p.m. Veterans are invited to join. Donations are sought to help hospitalized veterans, military members and their families through the Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund and Operation Comfort Warriors. Donations can be sent to American Legion Post 421, PO Box 925, Hicksville, NY 11802.
