The Village of New Hyde Park honored its 57 fallen veterans outside its Memorial Park with flag placements from Eagle Scout troop 298, a tradition the troop has carried on for many years.

Village officials, members of the community and the troop gathered outside Memorial Park on May 23 to commemorate the lost soldiers on the rainy Saturday before Memorial Day. The Scouts placed their flags at the conclusion of the ceremony as each of the names of the New Hyde Park soldiers was read.

Scout Master CJ Manoni said while the placing of the flags is an annual tradition, his Scouts provide community service all year round. Manoni said a previous member of the troop, Michael Domingo, who is now in college, raised funds in 2024 for the 57 plaques honoring the village’s soldiers and helped design the memorial where the current scouts placed their flags.

“A lot of our boys do community service projects in the village and the town, and it’s just one way to give back, to show up and have a presence here,” Manoni said.

Earlier in the ceremony, Mayor Christopher Devane gave his thoughts about Memorial Park while standing outside of the gates at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Central Boulevard at what’s known as the Boulevard of Heroes.

“You hear that when someone dies on the battlefield, two lives are lost,” Devane said. “Their life and the life they never had and never could have because it’s over. Because that life was taken from them on the battlefield in service to us.”

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Assemblyman Ed Ra echoed the mayor’s sentiments and thanked the gold star families in the audience. Ra said between Memorial Day and the country’s 250th Independence Day, the community should be reminded of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“One of the things we all need to reflect on from now until then is that it is those men and women who answered the call to service of this nation throughout its history,” Ra said. “Each time there was a conflict and our values of freedom needed to be defended, and if not for those men and women, we wouldn’t be reaching that milestone.”

A wreath-laying ceremony at the village hall followed the memorial, where more of the community’s young people paid tribute to their country and to New Hyde Park’s fallen soldiers.

Source: LI Press