_________________ WANTAGH ________________
HERALD VOL. 74 NO. 31
Service defines Seaford veteran
Local Girl Scouts earn Gold Award
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Honor Flight L.I. vets are set to reunite ans, their guardians and families may attend at no cost, while members of the public may More than five decades after attend for free from 10:30 a.m. to m a n y V i e t n a m v e t e r a n s noon. The May 2 flight included 41 returned home without the recognition and appreciation given Vietnam veterans, along with to earlier generations of service one World War II veteran and four Korean War members, Honor veterans. During Flight Long Island the one-day trip, vetis continuing its mission to provide erans visited the them with the welWorld War II, Korecome they deserved. an and Vietnam On Aug. 1, 46 War memorials, Long Island veterArlington National ans who participatCemetery, the Air ed in the organizaForce Memorial, tion’s May 2 Honor Navy Memorial and Flight to Washingother landmarks in ton, D.C., will Washington. reunite at the AmerAccording to ican Airpower Honor Flight Long Museum in FarmIsland President Bill ingdale to reflect on Jones, the trip was their experience about more than and receive com- BILL JONES visiting monuments memorative Tribute President, Honor — it was about honJournals document- Flight Long Island oring veterans ing their journey. whose service was Among those who not always recogtook part was Levittown resi- nized when they returned home. dent John Strong, a Vietnam “What this flight really repreWar Army veteran who served sented was a ‘big hug’ to all our as a Specialist 4th Class. veterans from Honor Flight, The free reunion event will their families and supporters,” be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Jones said. Hangar 3 at the museum, locatJones said one of the most ed at 1230 New Highway. Veter-
By HUNTER FENOLLOL
hfenollol@liherald.com
T
Courtesy John Theissen
Founder John Theissen has spent over 30 years helping children in need “feel like everybody else” by packing up new school supplies with a team of volunteers.
John Theissen foundation launches annual back-to-school supply drive By HUNTER FENOLLOL hfenollol@liherald.com
For over three decades, every summer has looked much the same for the John Theissen Children’s Foundation in Wantagh. Backpacks line the shelves, volunteers sort pencils, notebooks and glue sticks, and referrals begin pouring in from schools, hospitals and shelters across Long Island. By the time the foundation’s annual backto-school program wraps up in early September, thousands of children facing illness or financial hardship will head back to class with new backpacks, school supplies and, for many, gift cards to buy new clothes. For founder John Theissen, the program has always been about more than checking
items off a school supply list. “It’s not only helping a family financially,” Theissen, 54, said. “It helps a child feel like a regular kid with their self-esteem. Every child should have the same opportunity to learn.” The foundation, now beginning its 35th year, was created after Theissen survived a brain tumor as a teenager. While recovering at Schneider Children’s Hospital, he met young patients who had little or no family support, an experience that changed his outlook and reshaped his future. “I told my mom I’d be back to help out kids like this,” Theissen recalled. “I knew from that point on it was going to be a new life for me. I’ve been given so many chances CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
hat’s incredibly meaningful for our Vietnam veterans, who were not welcomed home back in the ’60s and ’70s.
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