Memorial Day ceremonies at Calverton National Cemetery today included a special tribute to PFC Garfield M. Langhorn, the 20-year-old Riverhead man who saved the lives of his platoon members by throwing himself on a live grenade in Pleiku Province in Vietnam on Jan. 15, 1969.
Langhorn’s mother, Mary Langhorn, who recently moved from Riverhead to Virginia to be near family, came north for today’s ceremonies, which included a special wreath-laying in remembrance of Suffolk County’s only Vietnam War-era Medal of Honor recipient.
Ceremonies also included a special presentation of a memorial wreath in honor of Dennis L. Krulder, a Vietnam combat veteran who served as commander of the Suffolk County chapter of Disabled American Veterans and as chairman of the Calverton National Cemetery Support Committee. Krudler passed away Jan. 8 at age 68.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and memories of the way returning soldiers were treated upon their return the U.S. are still vivid for Vietnam War veterans, said Richard Kitson, president of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 11.
It’s a chapter in American history people who lived through it are still struggling to come to terms with, he said.
“We should never mix up our feelings about a war with our feelings about the soldiers who answer our nation’s call to fight it,” Kitson told the crowd gathering in the assembly area of the national cemetery this afternoon for the annual Memorial Day ceremony.
Suffolk County Judge John J. Toomey Jr., a Vietnam War veteran who serves as presiding judge of the county’s veterans court, gave today’s keynote address. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Rep. Lee Zeldin, both U.S. Army veterans, also addressed the crowd, as did Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter and Calverton National Cemetery director Michael Picerno.
Music was provided by North Shore Community Band under the direction of musical director Jim MacDougall. Bugler Greg Efimetz played “Taps.” Kathleen Ryan sang “The Star Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America.”
