Advisory Military and Veterans Liaison Committee

MEETING MINUTES ADVISORY MILITARY and VETERANS LIAISON COMMITTEE MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2021 – 6:00 P.M. ONLINE – ZOOM WEB CONFERENCING NORWALK, CT 06851 1. CALL TO ORDER, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: the meeting was called to order at 6:07 p.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Jeff DeWitt. 2. PUBLIC FORUM: a. None. 3. ROLL CALL: a. Present (6): Jeff DeWitt, Chair; Irene Dixon, Mayor Rilling’s Staff; Leon Breault, Veteran At-large; Howard Dixon, Veteran At-large; Brian Griffin, Norwalk Chamber of Commerce (by phone) and new Veteran At-large Paulo Barros. b. Absent or excused (4): Orlando Aquino, Community Health Center; Deanna D’Amore – Health Department; Matt Seebeck, Veteran At-large; Fred Wilms, Financial Services Chair; Bryan Rooney, Veteran At-large. c. A reminder, there are vacancies for Vice Chairman and a legal advisor. In addition, there is one vacancy for an At-Large veteran who is interested in getting involved. 4. COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN COMMENTS: The chairman thanked all committee members. It’s been great to get some major projects done in 2020 and 2021. Looking forward to continued success in 2022. 5. OLD BUSINESS: a. (REPEAT) A physical binder or book of veterans’ resources in the City of Norwalk is being finalized. There is a collection site for documentation online until a resource document can be built or published online. UPDATE: The Google Drive for the committee is the repository for much of what has been collected to date and the shell of a physical binder was started months ago. Continuing to work on the content. Matt Seebeck and Fred Wilms both gave their thoughts on the way forward. This remains the #1 priority for the committee. UPDATE: The committee has a list of 458 veterans in Norwalk that was provided by the Tax Assessor’s office. The list is now two years old. We will ask for an updated list. There are some people missing from the list also. (OPEN)  b. OUTREACH: Irene Dixon continues to funnel veterans in need to the committee and we appreciate her help in that regard. A common theme from residents is the desire to donate motorized chairs and hospital beds. Priority is given to the Disabled American Veterans in the past, and we’’ll continue to use them in the future. c. MILITARY AND VETERAN REGISTRY: (REPEAT) Creation of a veteran registry in Norwalk has been requested to the IT Department in City Hall. A link was sent to IT and they have been asked about the feasibility of duplicating what the State of Pennsylvania has already done. It’s difficult to know who the Military residents are. It would be great to know who they are so we can help in times of need and thank them for their service also. (OPEN) https://www.dmva.pa.gov/veteransaffairs/pages/outreach-and- reintegration/pennsylvaniaveteransregistry.aspx d. PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NORWALK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: A database of veteran owned businesses in Norwalk has been started. This would give those business owners a chance to get together to share best practices and ways to market themselves in the city, as well as to participate in larger Chamber events throughout the year. See attachment 1 to these minutes for the list as of 9/16/2021. (OPEN) e. CEREMONIES AND HONORS SUB-COMMITTEE: The Ceremonies & Honors Committee held a successful Veterans Day program which drew a large audience. At their last meeting on December 13, they have agreed to take on three new ceremonies for the city: D-Day (June 6), POW/MIA Day (3rd Friday in September), and Pearl Harbor Day (December 7). (OPEN) f. PURPLE HEART MONUMENT: The process to add a Purple Heart Monument to honor Norwalk’s combat wounded in Veterans Park is complete. A vendor was chosen and Recreation & Parks will work with them on placement. Early to mid-Spring 2022 is the target timeframe. (OPEN) g. VIETNAM PLAQUE AT THE SHEA-MAGRATH MEMORIAL: The addendum to the Vietnam War plaque at the Shea – Magrath memorial has been installed. Coordination with surviving family members will be needed to have an event where the plaque is unveiled. As of today, the family members of Larry Thorne haven’t been located. Captain Joseph Brown has two daughters in California and a sister in Connecticut. They are open to an unviling event but would like to see better COVID-19 numbers. (OPEN) h. FUTURE MONUMENTS IN VETERANS PARK: A concept of building out the brick sidewalk that leads into Veterans Park from Seaview Avenue has been informally discussed. The concept would involve placing a monument for every war Norwalk residents have served in. The idea is to start with the Revolutionary War and add 1 or 2 per year until it’s completed. This could take 5-10 years. Funding will be a priority. Bricks could be sold through a website such as fundraisingbrick.com, with a part of the proceeds going to pay for new monuments. Public- Private Partnership could also be a method to build out this “Monument Walk” or “Veterans Walk.” A park named “Veterans Park” should contain more that is related to veterans. (OPEN) i. Future meetings. In planning for 2022, it was thought to keep the meetings to quarterly. After review of events slated for 2022, it’s a smarter decision to go back to monthly meetings (see New Business). The new schedule is: 1/10, 3/14, 4/11, 5/9, 6/13, 9/12, 12/12. (CLOSED) 5. NEW BUSINESS: a. The Wall That Heals (TWTH), a ¾ scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, has approved Norwalk for the 2022 tour. Norwalk is scheduled for June 2-5, 2022. The trailer will arrive in town on either May 31 or June 1. The City of Norwalk is the “named host” of the event. This means all the resources of the city will be available as planning and execution proceed. Many thanks to Mayor Rilling for approving the fee to be paid from city funds to host TWTH. The first planning meeting will be 12/22/2021, 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. (OPEN). 6. GOOD OF THE ORDER: a. The American Legion, VFW and other organizations related to the veteran community will be very busy in 2022. See Attachment 2 to these minutes for a calendar of events. 7. ADJOURNMENT: the meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m. 8. NEXT MEETING: January 10, 2022, 6:00 p.m., via Zoom. Attachment 1 Veteran owned businesses that have replied to the Chamber of Commerce questionnaire DVB Commercial Realty, LLC Law Office of Miklos P. Koleszar THF Tax Solutions, LLC Integrate4IT Jack T Wolf LLC RON AARONS PRIiME, LLC Chamber Seaport Electric Ray Rumer, Realtor, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Omni Natural LLC Web Realty Company Attachment 2 JANUARY Friday, January 14, 2022: Knights of Columbus Veterans Dinner, St. Ann’s, 16 Hendricks Avenue, Norwalk, 5:00-9:00 p.m.; veterans are free -- link for more information and for tickets: http://www.assembly100.org/events/2nd-annual-veterans-recognition-dinner/ FEBRUARY Thursday, February 3, 2022: Four Chaplains Day Wednesday, February 23, 2022: National Iwo Jima Memorial Ceremony, 1 Iwo Jima Way, New Britain, CT MARCH Sunday, March 13, 2022: St. Patrick’s Day celebration, live music, corned beef and cabbage, 1:00-4:00, American Legion. Tuesday, March 15, 2022: American Legion birthday Friday, March 25, 2022: Medal of Honor Day Tuesday, March 29, 2022: National Vietnam War Veterans Day APRIL Sunday, April 3, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion MAY Sunday, May 1, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion Sunday, May 15, 2022: Cemetery visits, starts at 10:00, City Hall parking lot Sunday, May 15, 2022: Veterans Memorial Ceremony, Calf Pasture Beach, 12:30 p.m. Monday, May 30, 2022: Memorial Day Parade Tuesday, May 31, 2022 or Wednesday, June 1, 2022: The Wall That Heals arrives in Norwalk JUNE Thursday, June 2 through June 5, 2022: The Wall That Heals, Veterans Park RECURRING MEETINGS Monday, June 6, 2022: D-Day, 6:00, American Legion Sunday, June 12, 2022 (2nd Sunday): Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion 2nd Tuesday, Legion Auxiliary, 7:00 Tuesday, June 14, 2022: Flag Day and Army Birthday Sunday, June 26, 2022: PTSD March, time and details TBD 2nd Thursday, VFW Post 603, 7:30 Monday, June 27, 2022: PTSD Awareness Day 3rd Tuesday, Legion Post (vets), 7:00 JULY Monday, July 4, 2022: Independence Day 3rd Thursday, Sons of the Legion, 7:00 Sunday, July 10, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion Wednesday, July 27, 2022: National Korean War Armistice Day AUGUST Sunday, August 7, 2022: National Purple Heart Medal Day, 12:00, Veterans Park, wreath laying Sunday, August 7, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion SEPTEMBER Sunday, September 4, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion Sunday, September 11, 2022: Patriot Day Friday, September 16, 2022: POW/MIA Recognition Day, 6:00, American Legion Sunday, September 18, 2022: Air Force birthday OCTOBER Sunday, October 2, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion Sunday, October 8, 2022: VFW team in Alzheimer’s Walk, Calf Pasture Thursday, October 13, 2022: Navy birthday NOVEMBER Sunday, November 6, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion Thursday, November 10, 2022: Marine Corps birthday Friday, November 11, 2022: Veterans Day Sunday, November 27, 2022: Christmas Tree Lighting, 5:00, American Legion DECEMBER Sunday, December 4, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion Tuesday, December 5, 2022: Veterans Memorial Committee meeting, 7:00, American Legion Wednesday, December 7, 2022: Pearl Harbor Day; 9:00, City Hall Saturday, December 10, 2022: Army – Navy game