(L-R) Westfield Republican City Chair Dan Allie, Barry Plumley, Allan Ardito, Dick Trusty, Ron Queipo, Cindy Lacoste, Bill Scheeloch, Treasurer, and John Cain, candidate for State Senate stand in front of the video honoring Trusty as Veteran of the Year. (THE WESTFIELD NEWS SUBMITTED PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – Over 160 people gathered at East Mountain Country Club Feb. 15 to honor five Westfield veterans at the Lincoln Day Brunch hosted by the Westfield Republican Committee.
Local veteran’s organizations nominated the veterans honored at the event, and City Councilor Dan Allie, chair of the Westfield Republican Committee, presented the awards.
Allie presented the Veteran of the Year award to World War II and Pearl Harbor veteran Richard Trusty, and Mayor Donald F. Humason, Jr. proclaimed Feb. 15, 2020 as Richard Trusty Day. Trusty was nominated by American Legion Post 454.
A video honoring the service of Petty Officer Trusty and remembering Pearl Harbor Survivor Robert Greenleaf, produced by Dan Allie and Peter Cowles and narrated by Christian Lent was shown. Trusty was also presented with a citation from the mayor, restored personal photographs from his service, and an American flag from the Westfield Purple Heart Foundation.
Also honored were Cindy Lacoste, US Navy, Gulf War, nominated by American Legion Post 124; Ron Queipo, US Air Force, Vietnam, nominated by Vietnam Veterans Chapter 219; Allan Ardito, US Marine Corps; nominated by Marine Corps League and Paul Nimchick, Jr., US Army, Vietnam, nominated by the American Legion Post 124. Barry Plumley and the officers of American Legion Post 124 accepted the award for Nimchick, who was unable to attend the event.
“I’d like to thank everybody that came and all of the veteran’s organizations that made the day possible. I’d also like to thank Peter Cowles for his work on the video,” Allie said following the event.
Allie said the Lincoln Day brunch is always focused on the community, and he said this year it was “a remarkable experience” getting to know the veterans, hearing their stories, and being able to honor them.
“Everything else they do, they’re doing all the work,” Allie, a U.S. Army veteran, said about the veterans who were honored.
