STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Local veterans joined Borough President Vito Fossella on Monday in New Brighton for the unveiling of a new flagpole at the Livingston WWII Veterans Memorial, honoring 280 neighborhood service members who fought during the war.<\/p>\n
The unveiling of the flagpole at the Livingston WWII Veterans Memorial honors not only the neighborhood\u2019s veterans, but also represents the freedom and democracy they defended. Community leaders said the monument \u2014 and now its flagpole \u2014 serves as a lasting tribute to the sacrifices of service members, recognizing their importance not just on Staten Island, but across the country and the world.<\/p>\n
During the ceremony, Borough President Vito Fossella expressed how the flagpole and newly raised Prisoner of War\/Missing in Action (POW\/MIA) flag represent Staten Island\u2019s ongoing commitment to honoring its veterans.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere on Staten Island, we always pay homage to those who serve,\u201d he said. \u201cWe honor our veterans because without them, we would not have the freedoms we enjoy. Today, we say thank you to the veterans here, across Staten Island, and across the country by raising a new flag and flagpole in their honor.\u201d<\/p>\n
District Attorney Michael McMahon praised the veterans, saying, \u201cIn today\u2019s world, everybody asks, \u2018What\u2019s in it for me?\u2019 But think about the decisions these young people made. They only asked, \u2018What is the right thing to do?\u2019 For them, the right thing to do was to stand up for freedom and democracy.\u201d <\/p>\n
After the speeches, Fossella, McMahon, and Vice Commander Pablo Hidalgo helped raise the new flag on the recently installed flagpole, alongside the American flag, to officially dedicate the memorial.<\/p>\n
![\"Staten](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/6HGYORBXARF6RP5Z6PYWHU6WA4.jpg\"\/)
Borough President Vito Fossella, Distrtict Attorney Michael Mcmahon, and Vice Commander Pablo Hidalgo raise American flag and Prisoner of War\/Missing in Action (POW\/MIA) flag at the Livingston WWII Veterans Memorial on the new flagpole, honoring local service members who fought in World War II and beyond.Sydney Maldonado<\/p>\n
Hidalgo said he initially reached out to Fossella and other local leaders about adding a flagpole to the Livingston WWII Veterans Memorial to honor those who served during World War II and beyond.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a veteran myself, a Marine, and now I look forward to coming by, seeing the flag, and saluting my comrades,\u201d said Hidalgo.<\/p>\n
Vice Commander Roy Wood thanked Fossella and McMahon for helping make the project a reality.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a tribute not only for veterans, but for Americans and what we stand for,\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n
The flagpole and Prisoner of War\/Missing in Action flag now stand as a symbol of the courage and sacrifice of Staten Island\u2019s veterans, honoring their service for generations to come. The monument, with its new addition, offers a place for the community to honor and reflect on the bravery of those who served.<\/p>\n
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Local veterans joined Borough President Vito Fossella on Monday in New Brighton for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-19057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}