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HERALD
Vol. 58 No. 31
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JUlY 27 - AUGUST 2, 2023
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Vietnam vet set to reunite with war buds Honor Flight Long Island recognizes an Oceanside native, William Taylor By KEPHERD DANIEl kdaniel@liherald.com
Tim Baker/Herald
The Oceanside Fire Department came away with multiple honors at the Nassau County Fireman’s Drill and Parade, including Best Appearing Fire Department.
Fire department takes home first place honors gets us to go out there and show the community who we are and at the same time get a little rest and relaxation.” Nearly 40 fire departments and more than Judges presented the county Fire Parade trophy to the Oceanside Fire Department, in 50 trucks gathered for the Nassau County Fireman’s Drill and Parade, one of the largest parades a 120-year tradition steeped in Nassau County, which in history, camaraderie returned to Rockville Cenand, of course, competition. tre July 15 for the first time The two-day festivities in eight years. began on Friday night at The Oceanside departFiremen’s Field with the ment won first place for annual Old Fashioned Drill Best Appearing Fire tournament — a series of Department in its category, timed races and contests and Overall Best Appearing designed to test firefighters’ Department. skills. “I feels great,” said forThe next morning, the mer Oceanside fire chief, competitors returned to the Ed Scharfberg on the track for the motorized department’s success at the ED SCHARFBERG drill. The sounds of parade. “We’re very happy former Oceanside fire chief engines roaring and tires that parades are back with screeching could be heard a vengeance, and we are very happy to participate. I’m sure the other over the cheers of the crowd. Thirteen teams departments are as well. It’s something that CONTiNueD ON PAge 2
By DANIEl oFFNER
doffner@liherald.com
W
e’re very happy the parades are back with a vengeance, and we are very happy to participate. I’m sure the other departments are as well.
Vietnam War veteran William Taylor of Oceanside has received some “long overdue recognition” for service to his country. Honor Flight Long Island, a veterans’ of war organization, will host a reunion of 37 vets from the Vietnam War, two from World War II and five from the Korean War on Aug. 5 at the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale. The reunion will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the museum’s Hangar 3, at 1230 New Highway. The public is encouraged to attend the veterans’ “Ceremony of Honors,” during which each veteran will be presented with a personalized tribute journal full of photographs taken during their trip to Washington, D.C. On April 29, Honor Flight escorted 37 veterans of the U.S. armed forces to D.C. to visit the military memorials in the nation’s capital. Among them was Taylor, 73, who has lived in Oceanside for the past 39 years. “It was something that I’ll never forget,” Taylor said of
the trip. “It was very important to me because it gives me closure to the whole war itself. It was just great being there.” The veterans and their guardians visited memorials from World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War, and they also visited Arlington N at i o n a l C e m e t e r y fo r a Changing of the Guard ceremony, as well as the Air Force and Iwo Jima memorials. “This special flight included 37 Vietnam veterans who received long overdue recognition and thanks for their military service,” said Bill Jones, Honor Flight president. “What this flight represented was a ‘big hug’ to all our veterans from Honor Flight, their families and supporters who make such flights possible.” Bor n in Inwood, Taylor joined the military in 1969 at the age of 20 after his second semester at Nassau Community College. He recalled serving in Pleiku, near the Cambodian border, for four months, during which his compound was bombarded with ar tillery shells for a week straight. “We were constantly on CONTiNueD ON PAge 16