Mt Pleasant to Recognize Medal of Honor Recipients This Weekend
The Medal of Honor is the highest personal decoration that can be presented to a member of the United States military. This weekend, the Town of Mount Pleasant will once again be recognizing the brave men who have received the medal, many of whom sacrificed their lives to save their fellow officers in acts of valor.
On Saturday, the town and American Legion Post 112 in Hawthorne will be holding a special ceremony that will raise the Medal of Honor flag on the flagpole directly in front of Mount Pleasant Town Hall. The ceremony, scheduled for 11 a.m., will include Medal of Honor recipient Robert O’Malley, one of several living veterans from New York State to have received the honor who will be attending the ceremony.
The town will also be unveiling the name of the nation’s most recent Medal of Honor recipient, David Bellavia of Buffalo, on its Medal of Honor monument outside Town Hall. Bellavia was presented his medal on June 25 by President Donald Trump, making him the only living recipient of the honor from the Iraq War.
On Sunday, the town will once again hold its Medal of Honor parade, this time in Hawthorne starting at 1 p.m. The lineup will take place at Cliff Street and Brady Avenue, then the route will proceed along Elwood Avenue before ending at the Hawthorne Fire House.
Peter Fiumefreddo, commander of American Legion Post 112 in Hawthorne and the chairman of the New York State Medal of Honor Committee, said this is the fifth year that Mount Pleasant has held its parade. When he moved to Mount Pleasant, he reached out to town officials then about installing a monument on the grounds of Town Hall to commemorate the state Medal of Honor recipients. His idea was welcomed, he said.
“When I came to Mount Pleasant, they said where do you want to put it,” Fiumefreddo recalled. “That’s the thing about this town, it’s really a veterans’ town.”
That sentiment has continued to the current administration, he said. Last month, the Town Board approved a resolution designating Mount Pleasant a Medal of Honor town, believed to be the only municipality on the East Coast with that distinction. In addition to the monument outside, it also has a display in the Town Hall lobby of the medals and photos of several of the New York’s Medal of Honor recipients.
Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said it was an easy decision for the board to make. Personally, Fulgenzi’s father was a World War II hero and veteran, serving in the
Pacific and earning the Silver Star Medal.
“The Medal of Honor recipients, we recognize them in our community,” Fulgenzi said. “We hold them to a different level, let’s put it that way. We have a lot of heroes in our lives, particular individuals who have gone over and above, most of them sacrificing their lives to save fellow officers.”
That is why many of Medal of Honor recipients over the years have been recognized posthumously. Since the Civil War when the medal was bestowed on there have been 3,524 medals issued, according to the Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States.
Fiumefreddo said the state Medal of Honor Committee is also encouraging communities around New York to organize and schedule parades of their own. Last year, Putnam County held a Medal of Honor Parade in Carmel while Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro has expressed interest in having one next year, he said.
However, Mount Pleasant continues to take the lead in bringing the sacrifice and accomplishments of some of the bravest men to serve the country to the public’s attention.
“This is the focal point,” Fiumefreddo said. “Mount Pleasant will always be the focal point.”
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/