Remembering our heroes

CSEA Long Island Region Veterans Committee Chair Maryann Phelps, right, welcomes attendees to the committee’s annual Memorial Day observances. Behind Phelps are region Veterans Committee members Ed Hussey and Steve Abramson.

WADING RIVER — CSEA’s Long Island Region Veterans Committee and guests recently gathered at Calverton National Cemetery to honor military veterans.

Every year, the committee holds the ceremony at the gravesite of a CSEA member or another person affiliated with our union. This year, the ceremony was held at Aldoray Cowell’s grave.

Cowell was a CSEA activist who served as 4th vice president of SUNY Stony Brook Local 614. He also served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Albany and the USS Dale.

Long Island Region Veterans Committee Chair Maryann Phelps, who knew Cowell because they were both in the same local, shared anecdotes about him.

Volunteers also recited selected readings for the occasion.

After the ceremony, attendees disbursed to place flags at the graves of other CSEA-affiliated people.

The Long Island Region Veterans Committee’s next event will be its annual car wash, with proceeds for the event benefiting local veterans in need.

To see CSEA’s latest Long Island Region events, visit facebook.com/csealongisland.

— Wendi Bowie

: CSEA Long Island Region Veterans Committee Chair Maryann Phelps, right, welcomes attendees to the committee’s annual Memorial Day observances. Behind Phelps are region Veterans Committee members Ed Hussey and Steve Abramson.

: Long Island Region Veterans Committee member Evelyn McFarland, right, attends the ceremony along with her sister-in-law, Elizabeth McFarland, and Evelyn McFarland’s husband, Mark McFarland.

: Nassau Local 830 Recording Secretary Nancy Ianson recites a reading at the ceremony as Long Island Region Veterans Committee member George Dobler looks on.