Jack and Dottie Bellachio, seated, with Molinaro, standing left and other elected
officials and friends.
POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro joined the county’s Director of Veterans’ Services, Marc Coviello on the Walkway Over the Hudson for a flag retirement ceremony and vigil on Sunday evening.
The ceremony, according to Molinaro, was started several years ago.
“It was begun during the quiet of sundown on Memorial Day eve to acknowledge those men and women that lost their lives in service of this great country,” Molinaro said. The county exec also said that the ceremony is a way for the participants and observers “to pause, to remember and acknowledge the service and sacrifice” of those veterans that have perished.
In his address, Molinaro mentioned the fast pace in which society operates nowadays and that those brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice did so while fighting for our freedoms. He implored the attendees to “slow down a bit and enjoy the freedoms” paid for by those who gave their lives.
Members of the American Legion Post 739 in Pleasant Valley joined members of the VFW Post 6534 in Highland to retire the existing flag on the Walkway and present it to Dottie Bellachio and her son Jack on behalf of Dottie’s deceased husband Jack. The late Jack Bellachio was a soldier in the US Army and served in Vietnam shortly after enlisting in 1964.
Coviello spoke of the many commendations and medals that had been bestowed upon Bellachio including some for his heroics in rescuing fellow soldiers whose helicopter had been shot down during a mission in the war.
Bellachio had also been a recipient of the Purple Heart and had been inducted into the Purple Heart Hall of Fame in New Windsor in 2012. The active member of the Highland VFW passed away in 2017.
