Nassau honors veterans with Eisenhower Park monument

Vietnam War veteran Edwin Gray served in the U.S. Navy from 1969 to 1974. Now, more than four decades later, his service is being honored as part of a new monument in Eisenhower Park.

His name appears on an engraved plaque on a brick, thanks to his son, Mark Gray, the founder of the nonprofit organization Brick 26.

On Sunday, Edwin Gray was one of 100 veterans who were remembered on plaques that were affixed to bricks that made up six pillars.

"It's an opportunity to honor everyday veterans who wouldn't otherwise be able to be honored with a monument," Wantagh resident Mark Gray, 44, said. "It represents the hard work and dedication they gave to our country."

Gray said he founded the nonprofit as a way for nonveterans and athletes to honor American soldiers. Since 2012, Brick 26 has held two endurance events where participants complete an obstacle course while carrying bricks on their backs. The bricks symbolize the responsibilities carried by veterans, Gray said.

Brick 26 held its inaugural race in the summer of 2012 at Eisenhower Park, and chose the location as the permanent site for the monument.

On Sunday, elected officials including Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, state Sen. Mike Venditto (R-Massapequa) and Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby of Hempstead attended the unveiling.

"The duty American soldiers have to our country is one we have to remember," Mangano said, addressing a small crowd of veterans and family members. "That's why we gather here today."

Scott Castillo, the deputy commissioner of the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency, served in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001 to 2004 in the Army's 1st Ranger Battalion. His name is engraved on one of the monument's pillars and he said he is honored to be recognized alongside generations of veterans.

"Because of those folks I joined the military. They stepped up to the plate," Castillo, 41, said. "Now my two sons can come and look at it and remember."

The monument is far from full; it counts several hundred empty bricks, which Gray hopes to fill. Each one costs $100 to dedicate and engrave with a veteran's name, rank and years of service. Brick 26 donates $92 of this amount to nonprofit veterans groups.

Since the nonprofit's inception in 2012, it has donated more than $30,000, Gray said. Donations help provide clothing, food, utilities and other support for veterans.

"They gave up a year, even 32 years," Bob Robesch, a past Nassau County American Legion commander, said. "This is a way to pay honor to everybody who served."

To donate, visit www.brick26.org.