A long-awaited Veterans Museum is being dedicated at 6 p.m. tonight at Putnam County’s Veterans Memorial Park.

The restored building, formerly part of the Putnam County Poor Farm, will be run by the Putnam County Joint Veterans Council. As with the Memorial Day weekend watchfires event (photographed below), veterans representing a range of organizations from the region will attend the group’s ceremony.

According to Karl Rohde, council chairman, the museum will feature a rotation of displays, to be determined based on items loaned or donated by members of the community.

The 200-acre park, off Route 301 in Carmel, NY, is home to several military memorials, including the nation’s first monument to Gold Star Mothers (according to Rohde) and an all-services monument featuring etched bricks honoring individual veterans, which still has room for more names. The Joint Veterans Council is also in the process of completing a chapel and meeting house at the park.

For more information, call the park office at 845-225-3650.

Four decades later, veterans who fought in the jungles of Vietnam received a formal apology from the government for the poor treatment and neglect they received when they came home. The government of New Zealand, that is.

I never realized that troops from other countries who soldiered in Vietnam were treated as badly as ours were until I saw this story online this morning from The Dominion Post.

The almost 4,000 Kiwis who served in Vietnam faced the same lack of support upon returning home and have been dealing with many of the same issues, including Agent Orange related health problems and post-traumatic stress disorder. Nice to see that their government is finally giving them a proper welcome home.

I remember my Dad  telling me about Australian guys he befriended in Vietnam. I’d be interested in hearing from any of our local vets about allied soldiers they got to know over there.

The Journal News has just created two databases that keep the Memorial Day spirit alive all year long, by enabling readers to find information about members of the American armed forces killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The “Remembering Our War Dead” database currently offers information about the 15 troops from our region killed in combat, beginning with Cpl. Bernard G. Gooden (photographed on right), 22, killed in an ambush on 4/4/03, to Sgt. Merlin German (photographed below), 22,
who succumbed to severe injuries on 4/11/08, three years after an roadside bomb burned most of his body.

The “Search U.S. Forces deaths” database provides a way to search the 4,500-plus American casualties by name, hometown, year of death, and whether they served in Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Try them out, and let us know what you think.

Unfortunately, we can’t cover all the Memorial Day ceremonies and celebrations in the region every year. Fortunately, we now have this veterans affairs blog, where watchful readers can share information and reactions about these kinds of events.

Here’s one from Putnam County, submitted by Karl Rohde, chairman of the Putnam County Joint Veterans Council:

The Putnam County Joint Veterans Council held a three-day event this Memorial Day weekend, the Putnam County Veterans Watchfire Vigil. Local veterans stood guard from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m., Friday through Sunday, at the Putnam County Veterans Park. One of the main events was the retirement of more than 4,000 tattered American flags, which were properly burned at the watchfires.

(I’ll post some photos of this event when I get them.)

Feel free to post comments or submit more information, including digital photos, about events you attended.

After a seven-year hiatus, New Rochelle will observe Memorial Day with a parade this year, stepping off at 10:30 a.m. Monday, from Memorial Plaza to Hudson Park.

The event, organized by the city’s United Veterans Memorial & Patriotic Association and boasting the theme “We Remember,” will include representatives from the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Montrose VA Hospital, New Rochelle police and fire departments, sailors and Marines from Fleet Week, and Union Army re-enactors.

The Grand Marshal is Ronald Tocci, retired state deputy commissioner of veterans affairs. Speakers are Leonard Weiss, decorated by Gen. Douglas MacArthur; New Rochelle native Bruno Gaita of the Air National Guard; and Capt. Hank Pudley from Camp Smith.

The day will conclude with an afternoon a “Picnic in the Park” featuring food from MacMenamin’s Grill and music in the Hudson Park Bandshell including the 15 pc. Bob Thoesen Orchestra and contemporary rock bands A2Z and Third Stone, and high school student band Backlash.

At yesterday’s opening of the Smithers Alcoholism Treatment and Training Center at St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, former Mets and Yankees baseball slugger Darryl Strawberry mingled with other recovering alcoholics, hospital officials and several uniformed Army officers who were there to support the center’s plans to reach out to veterans.

While covering the story, I took this quick photo of Strawberry schmoozing with two doctors from the Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point: Col. Andrew Friedman (left) and Col. Van Coots (right).

Both Coots and Friedman said their hospital’s partnership with the center, which will offer a range of inpatient and outpatient treatment programs, will be especially valuable because West Point only offers outpatient programs. They also appreciate plans for the center to reach out to veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, struggling with substance abuse problems as they try to readjust to civilian life.

Local veterans and service members are invited to bring their families to “Appreciation Day” at Playland this Sunday, for a day of fun and military tributes.

The events include a 1:30 p.m. honor guard, firing squad and bugler at the Music Tower Theater, then a Fleet Week military helicopter demonstration from 2 to 4 p.m. by Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Veterans will be entitled to ride discounts (2 for 1 Fun Bands) for the entire family and free parking at the amusement park, located off I-95 Exit 19. Military personnel in uniform get free rides all day.

Registration will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Veterans must show their DD-214 papers, a VA ID or a current membership card to a veteran organization. Pre-register and get a pass for free parking. Stop by the Veterans Service Agency, 112 E. Post Road, Room 442, White Plains, or call (914) 995-2146.

Just in time for Memorial Day, the national Recording for Blind & Dyslexic is trying to expand its outreach efforts for all the young veterans coming home with combat injuries that affect their abilities to read standard print.

The 60-year-old nonprofit organization has distributed a public service announcement about the campaign, starring retired Marine Cpl. Michael Jernigan, blinded by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq. Jernigan, recently featured in HBO’s Alive Day Memories documentary, is now attending Northern Virginia Community College with help from RFB&D audio textbooks.

Founded in 1948 to help World War II soldiers who were blinded attend college via the GI Bill, RFB&D now serves more than 185,000 people nationwide with various print disabilities, including visual impairments and dyslexia. Due to medical advances, today’s soldiers are increasingly surviving serious combat injuries; according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than one million American veterans now have either a visual impairment or another type of print disability.

Thousands of sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen will disembark in New York City tomorrow, participating in three Memorial Day parades in Westchester during Fleet Week New York.

The annual event, the city’s celebration of the sea services, features military demonstrations and tours of participating ships, many open to visitors from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. between Pier 88 and Pier 92 (along the Hudson River between West 47th and West 53rd streets).

Some highlights from the schedule of events:

May 21

9:30-noon: Parade of Ships & Aircraft fly-over Hudson River from Verrazano Bridge to George Washington Bridge

May 23

9 a.m.-11 a.m.: Two-mile run and wreath ceremony at the World Trade Center site

5 p.m.-6 p.m.: Navy Band performs at the Times Square Recruiting Station

6 p.m.-10 p.m.: Memorial Day Parade in Larchmont

May 25

2 p.m.-4 p.m.: Helicopter Raid Demo at Playland Park

May 26

10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Memorial Day Parade in Pelham

10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Memorial Day Parade in New Rochelle

 Last week I mentioned a Military Times story about an e-mail written by the coordinator of a Veterans Administration post-traumatic stress disorder suggesting that VA doctors not diagnose PTSD as a way of saving money.

Now comes an Associated Press report noting that the galling e-mail has raised the ire of a couple of U.S. Representatives, who are demanding and investigation. Hopefully, this will lead to a real effort to ensure that the estimated 30 percent of veterans suffering from PTSD receive effective treatment and all of the benefits they deserve.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that Lt. Gen. Franklin “Buster” Hagenbeck, head of the U.S. Military Academy, wants to make two traditional West Point songs more gender-neutral.

During a presentation to the academy’s Board of Visitors, Hagenbeck proposed finding alternatives for “sons” and “men” in the lyrics of the school’s “Alma Mater” and “The Corps,” noting that more than 3,000 women have graduated from West Point since 1976, including two female graduates killed in Iraq and buried at the academy.

So, does anyone out there have any good suggestions for ways to make the songs more inclusive? (The comments posted by readers on the AP story on LoHud.com last week unfortunately devolved into political rhetoric.) It’s too bad that English has such few gender-neutral options; one columnist has even suggested singing the songs in Latin. I’m certainly stumped…

Returning soldiers — How about food and fun while you do some business?

The Orange County Veteran’s Coalition is putting together informational booths for veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom on Saturday, May 17, at Goshen Park in Goshen, NY. Veterans can get information about services for returning soldiers and at the same time enjoy food and music with their families.

For more information contact the Orange County Service Agency at 845-291-2470 or the VA Hudson Valley HCS at 845-831-2000, ext 5016.

You have to wonder if the Veterans Administration exists to help veterans or to help help itself when you see reports like this, which appeared today Military Times.

It seems that an e-mail sent by the coordinator of a post-traumatic stress disorder program at an un-named VA hospital suggests that VA doctors  can keep costs down by not diagnosing PTSD and giving diagnoses of adjustment disorder instead.

Adjustment disorder is considered a short-term diagnoses and doesn’t qualify vets  for benefits or disability retirement pay.

Meanwhile, it’s estimated that 30 percent of combat veterans are suffering from PTSD. They deserve a correct diagnosis, the best treatment available and whatever disability pay they are entitled to.

Can stressed-out veterans go from “hooah!” to “om?” Apparently so, according to a new partnership between New York Sports Clubs and the Queens Vet Center, which provides free yoga classes for veterans at the Glendale gym in Queens.

Vet Center counselor Francisca Nazario said the classes will help veterans heal from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and readjust to civilian life.

At the Center, we believe that healing from trauma involves the body, mind and spirit, which is really the essence of yoga. That is why we were so grateful when the New York Sports Clubs volunteered to organize classes for our vets.

The concept of helping veterans through yoga has been around for a while – check out this NPR story about a similar program in Massachusetts last year. No word yet on whether this kind of program will be offered at any of New York Sports Clubs locations in the Lower Hudson Valley … but, I dimly recall having heard something a few months ago about fitness programs for veterans in Rockland, or elsewhere in our area, so let me know if you can jog my memory…

It’s happened again. A scheduled May 15 hearing in the murder trial of Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez has been postponed. A brief press release from Fort Bragg gave no reason and offered no alternative date.

In about three weeks, the families of the victims — Army Capt. Phillip Esposito of Suffern and 1st Lt. Louis Allen of Milford, PA — will be observing the third anniversary of their slaying in Tikrit, Iraq. But the case is yet to come to trial.  The delay has been a trial of patience for the families, especially the two widows who are raising young children and trying to get on with rebuilding their lives.

The trial is scheduled for early August, but at this rate it seems it, too, will be delayed.