Thy Cavagnaro's Contact Details

Thy Cavagnaro's Company Details

Thanking Vietnam veterans in Barnegat

Barnegat Township, New Jersey, United States • 1 Employees
Fund-raising

As a Vietnamese refugee who came to America in 1975 after Saigon fell to the Communists, I was inspired to do more for our Vietnam veterans after I experienced a very negative online attack by a Vietnam veteran after I was thanking this group of vets on Facebook.I decided to do 2 projects in my town of Barnegat, NJ, honoring Vietnam veterans living in this town:(1) Building a memorial for this group in our town, completely funded by me and my husband. The dedication date for this memorial was on the first national Vietnam Veterans Day, which was Thursday, March 29, 2018. We continue to celebrate Vietnam veterans annually on this date by hosting an event by our monument, along with the Barnegat American Legion and Barnegat VFW posts. Members of the Vietnamese community also join us at these events, to show our American brothers-in-arms how much their collective actions to fight for our freedom in our country are deeply appreciated. Hundreds gather in Barnegat from all over the area for this event!(2) Having a recurring series of "Thank You" nights out for small groups of Vietnam veterans at a time. They would be treated to free drinks and food, while we would make sure it's shown how much we appreciate everything they did by taking the time to get to know them, and by listening to their stories. These are also funded by me and my husband.On a local level, our goal is to be able to reach every Vietnam veteran living in Barnegat to have them come to one of our Thank You night events. And then on a broader level, we'd love for other towns and states to get inspired by this, and to do the same for their own Vietnam veterans in their communities. What's great is that, after our 1st event, we already heard about a few other people who are looking to do something similar in their area in other states, and were motivated by what they learned was happening in Barnegat!If you know of a Vietnam veteran who lives in Barnegat, PLEASE let us know about them!