The Canine Companions For Independence honored veterans who give back to their community in a ceremony in New Hyde Park last Thursday.
David Woycik, a retired Army military policeman and colonel, said that the foundation, which helps link veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder with their very own service dog, honors veterans for both their service to their community and country.
Woycik, a member of the board of directors for the organization who served from 1973 to 2006, said that about over 20 veterans die from suicide every day saying, “It’s an epidemic and thank god that we have programs like this.”
The dogs can help people in their wheelchairs, turn lights on and off, close doors and notice episodes of PTSD and anxiety attacks, Woycik said.
“The dogs know. It’s an inner sense or a six sense that they have,” Woycik said.
Woycik said the ceremony tries to honor a veteran from each major war in the past 100 years.
James Uvena, a retired army veteran who served under General George Patton and drove a Sherman tank on D-Day, said he didn’t know if he’d see his 26th birthday let alone his 100th.
Uvena said that it felt great to be honored for his life and service saying it was nice to know he was not forgotten.
“There are some things you like to remember and some things you don’t,” Avena said.
His actions on D-Day earned him the french medal of honor for his help in liberating France, he said.
Pasquale Albarella was honored for his service to his country fighting for three years in World War II. During the invasion of Salerno, Italy he was severely burned and nearly lost his legs, he said. After serving he starting his own firm, Able Steel Fabricators in New Hyde Park in 1960. He is 99 years old.
Gary O’Rourke, a retired Army sergeant, said he was drafted after high school and finding himself about 35 miles northwest of Saigon on the Cambodian border by 19 years old. In his service, he was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, the Army Commendation Medal, two Bronde Stars, and a Purple Heart.
O’Rourke said he was honored for his support of Special Olympics and other programs that help those with special needs. He also spends his spare time fundraising for the Wounded Warriors Project and the Tunnels to Towers Foundation.
“I think it’s a great thing. You learn to work with other people, learn leadership, love of country, sure, I would recommend it,” O’Rourke said about serving the military.
Kenneth Hernandez, who served in the Air Force from 2003 to 2008, attended the ceremony with his 3-year old yellow labrador retriever Miller. After leaving service in 2008, he was a Port Authority officer until a motor vehicle accident in 2014, leaving him paralyzed.
After his accident, Hernandez began getting involved with veterans organizations like the canine foundation and participating in wheelchair sports competitions. Hernandez met Miller in 2017 and said he is his best friend.
“He’s my best friend. He’s there for me all the time,” Hernandez said.
On being honored for his community service work, he said, “It’s a privilege. I feel honored.”
David Craven, who was deployed to Iraq in 2008 as a US Army combat engineer, said it took time for him to adjust to civilian life.
When he got out of the military in 2009, life was far from different from the one he knew in 2006. He came into a world with the iPhone, Barack Obama as president and an economy in ruins, he said.
Craven, originally from Arizona, now works as a lawyer in Mineola at the same law firm as Woycik, who chose Craven as an honoree, he said.
“Becoming an attorney, becoming a man in that way, is very enlightening and very fulfilling,” Craven said
