By Anne W. Semmes
Sentinel Features Reporter
The swearing in of new officers was in order at the April 13 monthly meeting of the Cos Cob VFW Memorial Post 10112, held at the Old Greenwich Civic Center. Longstanding Post Commander Joseph “Joe” Gregory, now in his 90’s, presided. “The Reaper didn’t take me,” he quipped, “so I guess he thinks I have a lot to do.”
And Gregory does—he has an ongoing agenda. An item at the top is to stay focused on whether veterans are getting the medical help they need. He cited improvements at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven, and told the 13 attending veterans, “If you have trouble with your eyes or with your ears, give them a call!”
Gregory also had a warning. He addressed the “biggest scandal” of the veteran charity—the Wounded Warrior Project—which reportedly spent as much on lavish events in 2014, $26 million, as it did on its primary program of combat stress recovery. “Don’t contribute to it!” declared Gregory.
The swearing-in of officers brought Peter Orrico as senior vice commander, Frank Tiriolo as junior vice commander, Emil Lombardo as adjutant, Doc Orrico as quarter master, Louis Caravella as chaplain, and Anthony “Tony” Marzullo as service officer.
Gregory welcomed two new members, George Bennett and Joe Potter, with a lament that there were not more. “We want to represent this Post,” he said, “but we’re dying faster than we’re getting new members.”
Member Bill Cameron shared the good news that his son Jonathan Cameron, a lt. colonel in the U.S. Army, would be returning home after 21 years of service in the Middle East. “He is a member of our Post and hopes to be marching with us on Memorial Day,” he said.
The Post will be well represented in the May 30 Memorial Day parade, said Tony Marzullo. “We’ll fill three convertibles,” he said, “with eight or nine marchers.”
Before the parade, the group will hold their Memorial Day ceremony on May 29 in Cos Cob’s Strickland Park, with George Bennett playing his trumpet. A new 30-foot aluminum flagpole provided by the town to replace a broken pole will be in place to grace the occasion.
“Don’t be ashamed to have been in World War II,” Gregory called out, “or the Vietnam War, or the Korean War. Open up your heart to Memorial Day!”
Gregory roused his group at end with a take-no-prisoner poem: “It’s the veteran, not the preacher/Who has given us the freedom of religion./It’s the veteran, not the reporter/Who has given us the freedom of the press./It’s the veteran, not the poet/Who has given us the freedom of speech./It’s the veteran, not the campus organizer/Who has given us the freedom to assemble./It’s the veteran, not the lawyer/Who has given us the right to a fair trial./It’s the veteran, not the politician/Who has given us the right to vote./It is the veteran/Who salutes the flag,/Who serves under the flag,/Whose coffin is draped by the flag.”
