The smell of barbecue mixed with the sound of laughter as more than 100 veterans and their families took over Franklin Square’s VFW Post 2718 Thursday afternoon.
“I like to meet with other vets,” said veteran William Russo, who added he came to the event from Williston Park every year. “It’s camaraderie.”
The cause for Russo’s and others’ celebration was Assembly Member Edward Ra’s 13th annual veterans’ picnic, which he hosts to honor and support the veterans in his district.
“This is an opportunity to say thank you to our veterans and invite them to have a free meal, and then also connect them with services,” Ra said. “The County Clerk’s Office offers opportunities where you can record your discharge papers. We’ve got the VA, we’ve got county veteran services. It’s an opportunity to connect them with resources that we know tend to be underutilized.”
Post commander John Conway himself has found the service connection helpful, saying that he signed up for VA benefits at the event a few years back.
“I came here and I signed up for medical through the VA, so I didn’t have to go to the office. I did everything through here,” Conway said. “I got an ID card. They give all the services here. It’s nice. They invite everybody and they give them the resources they need.”
Ra, whose grandfather was a World War II veteran, said he believes events like this are so important that he adapted them during the COVID-19 pandemic, holding a boxed lunch drive-thru. Now he said he’s happy his office has been able to restore the event to its full scale.
The Barbeque Boys, a Franklin Square-based barbecue company with a mission to serve veterans, grilled the hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans and steak and onion sandwiches.
“It’s important to give back to these guys who really put it all on the line when it really mattered,” said Michael Cronin, a co-owner of Barbeque Boys. “It’s important because those guys are here to protect us, whether they get the recognition or not. I think more people should kind of go out of their way to thank them.”
“For us this is just a small way that we can say thank you,” Cronin continued. “Realistically, there’s no way you could repay that sacrifice, especially to the guys who aren’t here today.”.
The event was also staffed by a local Boy Scout troop and a young Marines group.
Ra plans to hold the picnic again next year.
