Veteran supports grows at NCCC

Jacob Fries, Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, N.Y.
·3 min read

Jun. 16—Veterans services at Niagara County Community College are getting a new monument park.

"I'm really excited about this," said VFW Post 2535 Commander Roger Cordel. "It's going to a bigger, nicer veterans site."

The NCCC monument park was created in the 1970s by veterans of the Vietnam War who attended the college. Joseph Potalivo, from NCCC's veterans services office, said that the existing monument park has become less accessible through most of the year, because no walkway leads to it and trees are overgrown.

"Over 40 years of tree growth has choked out that area," he said, "plus that area's really swampy. So it's inaccessible throughout most of the year, unless you plan on getting muddy."

The new monument park will be behind faculty parking lot 3 and will be more easily seen and accessed. The lack of trees on the site will also make it easier to maintain. A memorial wall will hold the names of servicemen. Flagpoles for the United States, New York state, and POW/MIAs will be featured. The park will include a Vietnam veterans plaque, and forgotten veterans monument from the current veterans park.

This monument will honor all American service members with connections to the county and college, not just those who served in Vietnam.

"We want this to be the community's memorial," said Potalivo. "Obviously we're Niagara County Community College, but there are plenty of names on there that have also lived and/or worked in Erie County."

Gordon Bellinger, a member of VFW Post 2535, Vietnam veteran, and NCCC alum, met with Potalivo on Tuesday to give him $500 that had been raised by the VFW for the new monument.

"It's outstanding when a young veteran steps forward to do an update like this, because the first one they had there was from 46 years ago," Bellinger said. "This one is honoring all the veterans and that's heartwarming."

Potalivo also emphasized the importance of this monument being at NCCC. The college gave many local veterans an education and employment after coming home from Vietnam.

"We have plenty of veterans like Gordon Bellinger who got their degrees here when they came home, and members that have worked here, or their parents, grandparents, spouses, or children have been in the military," Potalivo said.

In regards to fundraising, Potalivo said that many individuals and organizations have come together to help make this new monument a reality. This includes more than $100,000 raised for the new monument from grassroots donations.

"We're lucky, because a lot of the local VFW's, the American Legions, Elk's Clubs, Lion's Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs. All these local organizations have really banded together to donate, and have their organization's names, or names of their members on this," said Potalivo. "We're really lucky to have the amount of people that this has touched."

Potalivo is hoping groundbreaking for the new monument will happen before winter.