The American Legion in Southold is looking for a few good men. And women.
With Memorial Day approaching, members of Griswold-Terry-Glover American Legion Post 803 are preparing for the solemn work of remembrance: red poppies, prayers and 21-gun salutes at five monuments in Mattituck and Southold.
But the post is also facing another kind of work. Its historic Main Road headquarters, opened in 1861, needs a paint job, its parking lot needs rebuilding and its aging members are trying to make sure the Legion remains a gathering place for the next generation.
For post historian John Christina, 78, an Army veteran, the two missions are tied together.
“These monuments weren’t put there just to be there,” he said as rain pelted the historic hall Thursday afternoon. “They can’t be forgotten.”
Southold’s post has about 167 members, many of them Vietnam-era veterans now in their 70s and 80s.
“Most of the guys who do all the work, they’re older,” Mr. Christina said. “If we don’t think ahead for the next generation, we’re going to be in trouble.”
Suffolk County has the largest veteran population in New York State. But at a recent Legion meeting in Babylon, Mr. Christina said officials discussed the broader decline of American Legion posts across the county. More than 20 have closed over time, he said, with four more expected to shut by the end of the year.
Mr. Christina has no intention of that fate befalling the post at the big bend as eastbound drivers enter the hamlet of Southold.
Beginning Friday, Legion members will fan out across the North Fork handing out red poppies — the longtime Memorial Day symbol honoring fallen service members — while raising donations for veterans programs.
Source: The Suffolk Times
