On Veterans Day, Sen. Valesky calls for year of sharing heroic stories with young people

By Michelle Breidenbach on November 11, 2014 at 1:40 PM, updated November 11, 2014 at 2:22 PM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - At a Veterans Day ceremony in Syracuse Tuesday, New York State Sen. David Valesky, D-Oneida, called for a year of sharing memories and stories about military service.

He thought of it after visiting an elementary school in Oneida, where young students were able to talk one-on-one Monday with a veteran he called a "hero."

"Perhaps all of us can rededicate ourselves this year to sharing, to reflecting, to teaching our youngest generation exactly what it means to be a veteran," Valesky said at a service at the Onondaga County War Memorial. "That experience, that sharing, that story, that remembrance that you leave with that young boy or girl will most likely last a lifetime."

The Veterans Day observance at the War Memorial honored the 70th anniversary of D-Day in World War II.

U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei, D-Syracuse, shared a quote often attributed to George Washington that said, "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated."

Then, Maffei deconstructed it. First, he said there is some question that Washington ever said it.

Second, Maffei said, it isn't true.

As the soldiers prepared for D-Day, they were not thinking about how veterans of early wars were treated or about their future veteran's benefits, Maffei said.

"They were thinking one thing: They love their country and they love freedom and they wanted to make sure that both prosper," Maffei said. "That is the true spirit of the veteran."

Maffei, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, also pointed out that the country has failed recently in the way it treats veterans and mentioned the recent Veteran's Administration scandal at the national level.

He said veterans still have to go through all kinds of paperwork to get benefits and sometimes are not eligible. The descendants of Agent Orange victims are not given consideration, he said.

"There are many ways we are not treating our veterans as well as we should and yet people still serve," Maffei said.

Col. Greg Semmel, commander of the 174th Attack Wing, was the keynote speaker.

Melinda Sorrentino and Melissa Spicer, founders of Clear Path for Veterans, were honored with the 2014 Friends of Veterans award. Lockheed Martin was named the Veterans Business 2014. The Veteran of the Year is John Paddock, Jr. retired rear admiral of the U.S. Navy, who co-founded the Honor Flight service in Syracuse.

Veterans of many ages filled the Memorial Hall for more than hour of songs and thank you's from elected officials.

Jacques Zenner stood quietly at the back of the hall. Many people in Syracuse know him as a taxi driver and an active member of the Conservative Party.

"Today, I want people to see I am a Vietnam veteran," he said, proudly wearing a hat with "Vietnam Veteran" etched on the front.

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