Dimmy Lotrecchiano (right) and Mary Barrett unveil the monument
along Gleneida Avenue.
CARMEL – A chilly rain failed to dampen the spirits of 75 onlookers
Saturday when a Blue Star By-Way Marker was dedicated as a tribute to
the U.S. Armed Services in front of the Putnam County Office Building
in downtown Carmel.
The Blue Star Memorial Marker Project was started by National Garden Club
members following World War II. Instead of building stone monuments in
honor of those who served, members decided to memorialize vets by helping
to beautify and preserve the country for which the brave men and woman
fought.
The project was named for the Blue Star in the service flag which hung
in the windows of homes and businesses to honor service men and women.
The Brewster-Carmel Garden Club sponsored the marker. Trina Hiemcke, chairwoman
of the Blue Star Committee, said the local garden club had previously
erected a marker in Brewster. “One of our main projects for 2018
was to place a marker in Carmel – our county seat –as well.
Thanks to our District Attorney Robert Tendy who donated $500 for the
cost of the marker and the county for locating a suitable rock to which
the plaque has been attached, the Blue Star Memorial By-Way marker has
become a part of our community.”
County Executive MaryEllen Odell told those in attendance, many huddled
under umbrellas and shivering from the 41 degree temperature, that “Putnam
County was the most patriotic county in all of New York State. We cannot
thank the dedicated members of the garden club enough for bringing this
marker to our county seat. Putnam County is extremely proud of its patriots–men
as well as women–who have served our nation with pride, valor and
dedication.”
“When one serves in the U.S. Congress, he or she gets to meet a
lot of many distinguished Americans who wore the uniform, said Congressman
Sean Patrick Maloney. “Every time I hear the stories of the greatest
generation and every generation who served, I am reminded how important
it is to recognize our veterans in a cold rain, snow or the heat of summer.”
Putnam Veterans Affairs Director Karl Rohde described the ceremony as
being “very moving. When the ladies contacted me a year ago, I was
thrilled because today’s dedication is critically important for
all veterans. The thing that veterans fear the most is that we will be
forgotten. There is nothing worst that being forgotten.”
Tendy described his donation of the Blue Star Memorial marker commemorating
Putnam County’s veterans as the “right thing to do. The markers
are wonderful gestures for our veterans. Vets do so much all the time
as do garden clubs.”
