CARMEL – The recently retired program director of the Dwyer Vet2Vet Program in Putnam County, John Bourges, has been inducted into the State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame. He was nominated by Senator Pete Harckham.
Twenty years earlier, he retired from the New York Police Department; a former detective, he is the recipient of the NYPD’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Following his retirement from the police department, Bourges studied nursing at Westchester Community College and later worked at White Plains Hospital as an ICU nurse until 2006, when he enlisted in the Army Reserves at the age of 50 as a 2nd lieutenant with the 405th Combat Support Hospital as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and was promoted to captain before being honorably discharged in 2014.
As program coordinator for the Dwyer Veteran Peer Support Program of Putnam County for nearly seven years, Bourges helped expand the program’s service and was later honored with the Vincent Peale Outstanding Service Award for his efforts.
He has also served as an advisory member of the Putnam County Suicide Prevention Task Force.
