|
Over 5,000 American Legion Delegates and their families converged on Syracuse from July 17 to the 20th for the New York Department's 85th Annual Convention. Senator Nancy Larraine Hoffmann was asked to address the Friday morning business session of the Convention. |
"It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the beautiful 49th State Senate District. This is a part of the State that is without parallel in its support of Veterans. I have been blessed in my 19 years in the Senate to work with some of the most civic minded people that this country has ever produced. I want to share with you one family that has touched me. Joe Carinci and his family from Oneida in Madison County contacted me early in my career for help building a Veterans Memorial. The five Carinci brothers served in the Armed Forces, two were highly decorated in World War Two. But we wanted a memorial to veterans of all wars and to especially remember the 297 Madison County servicemen who did not return from World War One, World War Two, the Korean War and the Vietnam War." |
"It took several years but in 1991 a beautiful Memorial was dedicated at the Madison County seat of Wampsville. Every year, on Memorial Day, the Carinci brothers take turns reading the names of the Madison County Veterans who didn't return home, including their brother, William James Carinci who was killed in France on August 19th, 1944. You really should take time to visit. The newspapers refer to that kind of project as "pork barrel" spending but I want to tell you I am more proud of that than almost anything I've done." |
View from the stage of the Onondaga County War Memorial. The 1,200 delegates take up the entire floor of the War Memorial, grouped by county. Signs like those found at political conventions are used to designate the seating arrangement. "I know that my job as a New York State Senator where I have served as a member of the Veterans Committee most of my time in Albany, I know that my job is to continue to support our military personnel when they are on active duty and when they return home as Veterans. Thank you and enjoy your visit to Syracuse. |