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10/28/2022 01:01 PMHundreds of luminaries lit up the night sky over the East Haven Town Beach on Oct. 15 as residents gathered for an evening of remembrance and gratitude for those who served.
The Light the Night celebration, organized by the Post 89 American Legion Auxiliary, was held on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Post 89 and recognized veterans, and lost loved ones.
Windy weather could not hinder the gravity of the event nor dwindle its turnout. Organizers estimated more than 300 people were in attendance and expressed the hope to turn Light the Night into an annual event.
“As we started to spread the word about the event, the interest grew. We kept ordering more lanterns and they kept selling, and we ended up selling out over 280 lanterns, and [there were] 300 to 400 people on the Beach,” said Michelle Benivegna, one of the co-chairs of the event.
The public celebration served not only as a memorial service for veterans and fallen loved ones, but as a community event for those who needed an opportunity to know they are part of a greater community, despite the struggles of the previous two years, according to Lisa DeCicco, the Auxiliary’s historian.
“I work at a funeral home and I saw some of the families that my home serves. At the end of the night you could just see how moved they were by the event,” DeCicco.
“Remembering loved ones, seeing friends come out. The hugs, the tears, there was even some laughter. Especially since COVID, people really need an outlet. Some people didn’t get the closure they needed. Things like this are so very important for people to be able to get out there, express their grief and to have those laughs and memories.”
That sentiment was found in each member of the Auxiliary and those members of the community who attended, including Alicia Heaney, the treasurer of the Auxiliary, whose husband is a veteran.
“I’ve lived in East Haven a little over 20 years, and this is an event when I attended, I really felt a part of the community. It was overwhelming for me to realize that it counted,” she said.
Heaney, Decicco, and Benivegna all have relatives who served in the United States military, as well as Ann Pennington, the President of Post 89’s women’s wing, who recalled the solemn climax of the event in its honor of East Haven’s own soldiers.
“As the candles were lit, we announced the names of those being memorialized. I myself was reading names; and when I got names of people I knew, I myself got emotional,” Pennington said. “You could almost hear people listening for [relative’s] names. There was silence; there was no talking. It was so moving. My heart felt so full, I’ve never had that feeling that was there that beautiful night.”
The proceeds generated from the luminary event will go towards the American Legion Post 89 Auxiliary Scholarship Fund, which will select an individual or multiple people who are relatives of a veteran, and offset the hardship of the cost of tuition for a higher education institution or trade school. According to Benivegna, the scholarship is still in its infancy stage with criteria in development.
As of November, the recently reformed Auxiliary has only been in existence for around two months, and with the success of the Light the Night celebration, is looking to further its mission in actively helping veterans. This not only includes veterans of the town’s Post 89 chapter, assist in health programs at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Haven, the Ronald McDonald House, and help women veterans, according to Heaney.
“The face of the veteran has changed. Women are going into combat, so there is a great need to help women veterans, which is kind of an untapped area. We will be looking at a fundraiser to help specifically women veterans to get on their feet,” she said.
Along with familial ties to the U.S. military, the members of the Auxiliary are determined to work with Post 89 and its aging members, as it continues to face declining membership, whilst not garnering enough younger veterans of more recent conflicts, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, to join the local chapter. The reluctance of combat veterans in particular to join is partially to do with all of them suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and not wanting to recognize their condition through conversations about conflict
The treasurer stressed the importance of working with the American Legion, given its history, the sense of community it has provided for veterans, and the help it has provided for them, especially since the passing of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act in 1944, more commonly known as the GI Bill.
“The American Legion has been instrumental in pushing through so many benefits for veterans. It’s a very important organization. The younger veterans don’t really want to join, and I don’t think they realize how important it is to become a member of the Legion and carry on those traditions,” she said.
According to Butch Mannochi, the commander of Post 89 and a veteran of the Vietnam War who served during Tet Offensive, said the youngest member of the East Haven chapter is 55 years of age, while every other member is at least 75, including Mannochi himself.
Pennington concurred with a similar point regarding the aging population of Post 89.
“The members of the Post aren’t getting younger. We have to carry on with them to make sure that they’re here 40 years from now to represent,” Pennington said. “It’s the importance to memorialize those of the past, but to keep alive those of the future.”
The Auxiliary is looking to participate in a variety of events, including the national Wreaths Across America on December 17th, where wreaths will be laid at the gravestones of veterans at East Lawn Cemetery. According to Pennington, the Post 89 is also considering a membership drive event for the Legion through a letter-writing campaign to further spark interest in the organization and the resources it can provide.
Mannochi expressed his insistence on joining the Legion as well and the work of the reformed Auxiliary group in the near-future.
“Once you get out of service, you should join the American Legion. A lot of people don’t, and done with the service, [they] don’t want anything to do with. The Legion participates in a lot of different things,” said Mannochi. “We have the Ladies Auxiliary now, and they’re going all out to do stuff.”