On May 31, the East Haven Veteran’s Council in conjunction with Mayor Joseph Carfora will honor all those who made the ultimate sacrifice with a Memorial Day procession and ceremony. The town will also recognize Wendy Bellmore, East Haven’s 2021 Honored Veteran, who was commissioned 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1990. Wendy was assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Department, Army Nurse Corps, and served 19 years attaining the rank of major.

“It’s amazing to me and so humbling to be asked to do this,” says Wendy. “I am a nurse practitioner by profession and once a nurse, always a nurse. I was member of U.S. Army Nurse Corps and it was an incredible experience.”

Prior to honoring Wendy, the Memorial Day ceremonies and remembrances will feature a procession from the American Legion Post 89 on Thompson Avenue to the East Haven Green. All East Haven veterans and town officials are invited to participate in the procession.

East Haven High School Band Director Matt Laudano and special guests will provide patriotic music on the green starting at 11:45 a.m. After the procession arrives at the Town Green at 12:15 p.m., there will be remarks from Carfora and other dignitaries as well as the presentation of Wendy as the 2021 Honored Veteran. The Veterans, Color Guard, and guests will then proceed to the War Monuments and honors will be rendered.

Wendy began her military career after spending many years as a stay-at-home mom to her two sons. She decided to join the military in 1990 and trained in critical care nursing.

“It was a big change, but it was a decision that was important and something I wanted to do,” says Wendy. “The military has a tremendous focus on bringing all nurses to a very high level of skills and preparedness for the acute needs a solider might have in the field.”

Wendy continued training and completed an internship before she became the officer in charge of a training site for nurses at the West Haven V.A. Center. She worked full-time, worked as a reservist with the military and attended graduate school to become a nurse practitioner.

Wendy has now lived in East Haven for the past two decades and while she has retired from nursing, she has continued to give back over the years. She is involved in several organizations in the area, including veterans service organizations such as American Legion Post 89, the East Haven Lions Club, the East Haven Garden Club, and Christ and the Epiphany Church.

“I am involved in a lot of things, but right now, being a grandma is the best job on the planet,” says Wendy, who has three grandsons. “We are all obligated to offer what we have in response to what community needs might be. I’m interested in helping with whatever it is that needs to be done.”

Most recently, Wendy has fallen back on her nursing experience as she has volunteered to help administer the COVID-19 vaccine in different health department clinics. Her nursing skills have also been put to use across the globe as, through her involvement with Christ and the Epiphany Church, Wendy has traveled to Africa to help on medical missions in remote areas.

Wendy is attuned to more than the medical needs of the community. She has seen the mental toll that the isolation of the past year has taken on many people, making it a point to continue to reach out to friends, family, and other community members with a phone call or a note.

“Sometimes it doesn’t take much to make a difference to someone—just reaching out to someone can make a big difference,” says Wendy, who is also a Master Gardener. “Giving back doesn’t have to be a big, high-speed, heroic act. It can be a chat or a card or picking up a few extra things at the grocery store for the food pantry. If you can and you are able, just do it. All you have to have is a desire to help.”

Though Wendy has lived in town for more than two decades, she still considers herself a newcomer compared to many of East Haven’s lifelong residents. One of her favorite things about the town, though, is the residents’ willingness to help others.

“If someone ever says, ‘I need help,’ there are so many people who raise their hand and say ‘What can I do?’” says Wendy. “I really love that about this community.”

Wendy has found a variety of ways to help the community through her involvement with the American Legion and the Lions Club. The groups have also worked with the Vietnam Veterans of America #484 on different projects, such as the July 4 fireworks display. The American Legion also works with the church in honoring Veterans Day, providing the color guard to present the colors.

“Post 89 is a small post of wonderful people who are extremely thoughtful and I’m grateful for those I know through the post,” says Wendy. “The Vietnam Veterans to tremendous work honoring the veterans and with the fireworks. Our veterans do so many wonderful things.”

The Lions Club has also worked to honor veterans, recently becoming involved with Wreaths Across America, which has a mission “to remember, honor, and teach...by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 2,100 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad,” according to wreathsacrossamerica.org.

Wendy initiated contact with the Wreaths Across America on behalf of the Lions Club with a goal of participating and laying wreaths at East Lawn and Green Lawn cemeteries. This year, the annual event will be held on Dec. 18. Wendy and the Lions Club will begin a fundraising and sponsorship campaign following the Memorial Day ceremonies.

“The wreaths are laid at Arlington and other cemeteries across the country on the same day at the same time,” says Wendy, who serves as treasurer of the Lions Club. “Our hope is that the Lions Club and other organizations and like-minded people will be interested in assisting with laying the wreaths locally.”

Wendy is proud to be able to find other ways to honor veterans. She points out that the military is like a microcosm of the larger society with so many different roles required for it to run smoothly. In addition to soldiers, she notes that there are so many other people who serve in other fields, such as medical, cooks, administration, chaplains, and more.

“We have to honor people who put that uniform on, whether it’s a fighting soldier in foreign country, someone cooking meals, the chaplain, or a nurse in a hospital,” says Wendy. “So many relate ‘veteran’ to being a soldier who goes to war, but there’s a bigger military community that does everything that might be needed to sustain that community and we honor all of those people.”