Memorial Day is becoming increasingly heartbreaking amid coronavirus.
With most countries confined, relatives who were late military veterans were allowed to respect their relatives without the support of traditional parades or the memories of grave groups.
And for some veteran families, contagion will not only prevent special public warnings on Monday, but also what actually kills their loved ones.
“Veterans should be treated, and they don’t. This is despicable,” said Rosemarie Rado, whose father, Korean War veteran Daniel Rado, 92, died of COVID-19 at Paramus Veterans Home in New Jersey about three weeks ago.
The government-run nursing home has become a famous epicenter for the virus in the country, with at least 79 deaths from the corona virus.
Louise Lombardi, 61, from Baldwin, LI, said she usually participates every year in the Across America Flags event, where volunteers place small Old Glories on tombstones in military cemeteries for holidays.
But this year, because of social rules that keep away from deadly pandemics, he wore a mask on Sunday – and personally stuck a flag to the ground in his father’s grave, World War II veterinarian Joseph Lombardi, at the Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale.
“There are many veterinarians there today who are disappointed because this event cannot take place,” Lombardi told The Post of the Flag-Group.
“For the people we remember, things don’t matter to them,” said the Long Island woman, whose father died 55 years ago. “They still have to fight for our freedom.
Louise Lombardi respected his father with his fiancé Dan Bailey.Photo by Al Bello / Getty Images
Kristie Espinal’s 94-year-old grandfather, Joseph Guagenti, a Purple Heart recipient from Queens who served in World War II, died of suspected coronavirus at the end of April.
He said the holiday would be very difficult this year due to the death of his grandfather – and the lack of public meetings to honor heroes like him.
“They usually hold a small Memorial Day parade in our neighborhood, but unfortunately, it was canceled,” said Espinal, who is like her grandfather from Howard Beach.
“So [Monday], we will respect other veterans who are still alive and 99 years old, and people will drive and pass his house because he is stuck at home and very sad.
“I will take my two sons … [and] in honor of Grampa, we will pass, we will wave. What else can you do? ” she says.
Espinal, 38, said that fortunately, his grandfather was laid in a mausoleum, and his family was still able to visit the site.
“I cannot imagine being told that you cannot go and see your loved ones at this time, when you want to remember, ” he said of other families and their friends who had been told not to gather in large groups on grave sites .
“They play a very important role for this country, and not being able to respect them as they should be respected is terrible,” he said of late service members. “For me, veterans are No. 1. ‘
Arnold Haber’s son, Mitchel, whose Bronx-born father served in the Korean War and died of a corona virus in the Paramus nursing home in April, told The Post that veterans still living at the facility must despair because of a devastated holiday.
“This is their vacation, and there is no one there to celebrate,” he said.
On a regular Remembrance Day, “We will be in a nursing home throwing a party. They always have a great party, with entertainment, “said Mitchel Haber.
“They didn’t do it this year because of a virus,” he said.
“That [veterans] who remember, they look forward to this day. That would be very quiet for them. ‘
His son added that his father was very proud of his ministry and would wear an American flag baseball cap every day and fly the flag on his wheelchair.
“He is a staff photographer for his unit. … He will always tell stories, he remembers everything, “Mitchel said.
“He could not get military forces because of a pandemic,” his son said. “But it will be” something he will love. “
Another Paramus veteran home resident and veteran, Robert Hopp, died of COVID-19 in April.
Vietnam War veterinarian and 70 year old Purple Heart recipient.
His family said they did not know how they would commemorate his heroism on this Remembrance Day.
“We haven’t even been able to hold a funeral for him,” J.J’s stepson. Said Brania-Hopp. “Actually there is nothing we can do at this time. All we might do is talk about him, maybe walk in the sun. “
According to the federal Veterans Affairs Department, more than 1,000 veterans have died from viruses throughout the country – although that number does not include hundreds who surrendered to facilities such as the Paramus nursing home.
