From the Desk of Rep. David Scribner: Honoring Local Veterans

Two of my proudest moments as a public official have proved to be organizing and presiding over public assemblies in both Brookfield & Bethel, along with our Commissioner of Veteran’s Affairs, to present the Connecticut Medal of Honor to Veterans in our communities who served during wartime. With over 250 veterans in attendance at each event, I felt incredibly honored to express my gratitude, and contribute my support.

On this November 11th, I would like to extend a message of respect and appreciation to all Connecticut natives who have served, and encourage residents to pause and properly observe and recognize the importance of our Veteran’s service on behalf of our country.

I am proud of the efforts made by the state’s Department of Veteran’s Affairs to provide Veterans with the services they deserve. Such initiatives include:

• State of Connecticut Veterans’ Home at Rocky Hill, a residential facility that “serves those who served.”
• Patriot’s Landing, which provides transitional housing services to returning service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Sgt. John L. Levitow Veteran’s Healthcare Center at the Veteran’s House, which provides long term quality health care in various departments and services to veterans with chronic and disabling medical conditions.
• The State Veteran’s Cemetery, located in Middletown, CT, houses a chapel available for services of all religious denominations.
• The Connecticut Department of Veterans’ Affairs Office of Advocacy and Assistance has five offices located throughout the state provide benefits counseling, veteran’s disability claims, and pension advocacy and discharge records.
• Individual and Group Volunteer Opportunities are available at the Veterans’ Home and include assisting with recreation programs, personal visits with veterans, pet therapy, and event planning.

If you would like to recognize a Veteran in your community, or volunteer to contribute to Veterans’ Affairs services, please see the following listing for local Veterans’ Services contacts:

Bethel
Clifford J. Hurgin Municipal Center.
1 School Street, Bethel, CT
(203) 794-8594 or (203) 794-7781
sarverj@bethel-ct.gov

Brookfield
63 Silvermine Road
Brookfield, CT
(203) 740-4101 or (203) 460-4817
rmontgomery@brookfieldct.gov

Freedom has always been earned, yet it’s still so easily taken for granted. We must remember that the freedom we all enjoy today has been secured by the service of our veterans. Today I would like to say to all of our soldiers and airmen: thank you for your patriotism, love of country, bravery, courage, sacrifice and willingness to serve for the common good.