Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) members were joined by veterans, residents of the district, members of Bedford Mosholu Community Association (BMCA), members of the 52nd Precinct Community Council and others for their 2nd Annual Veterans Day Commemoration held at the Bronx Victory Memorial on Mosholu Parkway in Bedford Park to mark Veterans Day.

 

The event was held on Saturday, Nov. 18, and among the local veterans in attendance and thanked for their service on the day were Anthony Rivieccio, founder of the Northwest Bronx Democrats, Duval S. Guerino, who served from 2000 to 2004 in Darmstadt, Germany, Dave Laguer, a former 3^rd vice chair of Bronx CB7, and Pastor Crespo Jr., research librarian/archivist with the Bronx Historical Society.

 

CB7 veterans committee chair Chad Royer thanked the veterans during his prepared remarks, and Crespo Jr., CB7 budget and ethics committee chair Jean Hill and Sirio Guerino, father of Duval S. Guerino, also addressed those gathered.

“Our U.S. veterans are members of our community who served our country in an effort to uphold our national security and to ensure the freedoms we have, and are often taken for granted,” Royer said. “Some are here in good and not-so-good health, while others have lost their lives. Some of our veterans are homeless, dealing with housing issues, affected by food insecurities, dealing with lifelong injuries, reliving the trauma that they encountered during service, living paycheck to paycheck, facing financial hardship.”

 

He encouraged civilians “to try to understand the mission and be part of the solution.” Addressing elected and appointed leaders in government, he then said, “We need your help and we need it now. I want to give a special thank you to Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, our city council, and our very own Bronx Community Board 7 for the support behind the passing of Resolution 581. As per the resolution, November is now Veterans Appreciation Month.”

 

During his remarks, Crespo Jr., who said he spent 20 years serving in the military, called on the families of veterans to share their stories with the Bronx Historical Society for preservation, as reported. “When we look at veterans, we only see that veteran and the sacrifices he [she and they] did, but we forget about those family members who deal without their spouses for months on end, those family members that are dragged on tour every two to three years,” he said, in part.

Crespo Jr. continued, in part, “Their children have to get up and restart their lives every two to three years. I had a great time but my spouse… the difficulty of going overseas, not speaking a language, not having a career….so the Bronx Veterans Archive is to capture oral histories in the testimonies of these veterans, their family members, and the civilians that, alongside us, serve.”

 

He added, “Veterans are not synonymous with mental health. We deal with a lot, but so do our first responders, so what we want to do and our goal is to humanize that veteran. Another way that we’re archiving their history is by collecting donations of documents of the times they served, photographs… what they accomplished.”

 

Once again, Barbara Stronczer, chair of CB7’s Parks committee, shared some of the history behind the Bronx Victory Memorial monument up to 1988, at which point it had been in a poor state of repair.

Rivieccio, who, like others, has been honored by different elected officials over the years for his military service, shared some more recent additional history on the site. “In 2007, three [organizations], BMCA, Northwest Bronx Democrats, and Norwood Against Graffitti* (Guerinos Against Graffitti*) lobbied then (CD11) Councilman Oliver Koppell to clean it up,” he told Norwood News.

 

“He allocated $1 million,” Rivieccio said, adding that it was later cleaned in 2009. “Then, the three groups lobbied, in 2011, for an illumination of the monument,” he added, saying this cost $500,000 and that Koppel also secured that funding. He continued, “From 2012 on, we all lobbied CB7 to reinstitute events back at the monument. [This] finally restarted in 2012.”

 

Sirio Guerino later said of veterans, “Thank you for protecting our country. Every day should be Veterans Day.” Before thanking Royer for advocating for veterans, he then addressed the public, saying, “If you know a veteran or not, please assist them anyway you can.”

Other CB7 veterans committee members present at the event were Emmanuel Asamoah and Hugo Gonzalez. CB7 board chair Yajaira Arias and District Manager Karla Cabrera-Carrera, and CB7 members, Stronczer, Samantha Souvatzis, and Leurys Acosta were also in attendance. No elected officials were present, though they had been invited. Many had attended Van Cortlandt Park’s 17th Annual Veterans Day Ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 5, as reported.

 

The New York Gray Cadets band, overseen by Laguer, delighted those gathered with a musical performance and military procession. To view some short videos of the procession and event, courtesy of AJ Ramos, click here, here and here.

 

In Manhattan, Veterans Day, Nov. 11, was a slightly more subdued affair this year, with seemingly less people in attendance for the annual Veterans Day parade. Many object to U.S. support of Israel in its latest military conflict with Hamas, further to the latter’s attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, and the kidnapping of around 240 Israeli hostages, including some infants.

Some hostages have since been released and exchanged for Palestinians previously detained in Israeli prisons. The high number of Palestinian civilian deaths, estimated at over 15,000 since Oct. 7, including many children, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza strip over several decades, has formed the basis of public opposition to the war. Israel says Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis in the attacks.

 

The Manhattan parade included veterans who are also members of SAGEVets, a statewide program which assists older lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ+) veterans of the U.S. military over the age of 50. They help improve access to veteran benefits and their overall health and wellness.

 

Local Norwood resident, Ramos, has long advocated for LGBTQ+ veterans to be honored in a visible way within Bronx Community District 7, and the board is currently assessing how/where best this can be achieved. The board stressed that CB7 honors all veterans regardless of how they identify.

 

Meanwhile, Arias said during the latest Bronx CB7 general board meeting held on Nov. 28 at P.S. 246 in Kingsbridge Heights that the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Bronx Victory Memorial is fast approaching, and that the board hopes the centennial commemoration will be even bigger and better. It takes place in 2025.

The board marked Memorial Day by attending a flagging event at Woodlawn Cemetery earlier this year, as reported.

 

On the background to his military career, Rivieccio said he enlisted in 1977 at the U.S. Navy office on Fordham Road. “As a Bronxite, I feel honored to serve both my country and community, and while recognition is wonderful, honoring the history is even better.”

 

 

 

Editor’s Note: In a previous version of this story, it was misstated that the remarks regarding the centennial celebration of the Bronx Victory Memorial dedication were given during a recent Bronx CB7 public safety meeting. In fact, the remarks were made during the Bronx CB7 general board meeting on Nov. 28, as now reflected in the story. We apologize for this error.