TOWN OF WALLKILL – Senator Mike Martucci (R, New Hampton) has honored his inductee into the New York State Senate Veterans’ Hall of Fame, Sharon Toney-Finch, an Army Purple Heart recipient from Woodridge.
The ceremony took place during the Orange County Chamber of Commerce’s monthly membership meeting at the Galleria at Crystal Run on Thursday.
The New York State Senate Veterans’ Hall of Fame was created to honor and recognize outstanding veterans who have distinguished themselves both in military and civilian life.
“Sharon’s meritorious service to our nation deserves the special recognition that only a Hall of Fame can provide. I could think of no one more deserving of this expression of our gratitude and admiration than Sharon,” said Martucci.
Toney-Finch served in the U.S. Army and achieved the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 2. She joined the Army to be part of the Quartermaster team.
She completed Boot Camp at Fort Jackson and AIT Supply Logistics in Virginia.
She was stationed at Ft. Benning 203rd BSB Alpha Company. Her first deployment in Iraq consisted of her being part of the building of FOB Hammer, and she was awarded for her leadership and outstanding work.
Not long after her 15-month deployment, her unit came down on orders again to return to Iraq, at Camp Kalsu. In this deployment, she controlled the 203rd BSB Bravo Company’s Motor Pool. During a mission, her convoy was attacked with IEDs and suppressive fire. She was able to save three of her soldiers during the attack, was wounded, and was awarded the Purple Heart.
Toney-Finch was transferred to Germany for a year, where she underwent 52 surgeries. From there she received treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital for rehabilitation. She suffers from a traumatic brain injury and PTSD due to the incident.
During her recovery, she received orders to be stationed at K16 in South Korea in 2013. She remained head of the motor pool, and successfully led her unit to win the maintenance award for the turnaround. While stationed in South Korea, she gave birth to her miracle, Yerik Israel Toney. He was born premature at 23 weeks. As there was not a NICU on the military installation, she traveled an hour away. Yerik survived for seven months.
She created the nonprofit, Yerik Israel Toney (YIT) Foundation for Preemies Inc., to assist families with preemies, as well veterans who are in need of housing and benefits. YIT Foundation has helped 3,200 families with preemies and 4,500 veterans, all within the seven years of the Foundation’s operation.
Ms. Toney-Finch’s goal for the first part of 2022 was to house 1,000 homeless veterans; she has housed 780 to date. She works within six counties assisting veterans, military sexual trauma (MST) victims, and families with preemies, and is currently helping 153 MST victims.
