Rolling Thunder remembers hospitalized veterans
Last Updated on Thursday, November 15, 2012 03:58 pm Written by STEVE PRISAMENT Wednesday, November 14, 2012 04:16 pm
GALLOWAY – There’s nothing like a happy face greeting you and thanking you for your military service. Except maybe 10 happy faces.
Seven members of Rolling Thunder Chapter 4 New Jersey were accompanied by four staff members on a tour of AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center – Mainland Campus here. They visited more than 20 veterans who were patients on Veterans Day, Sunday, Nov. 11.
“It was very much appreciated by the patients and family members, and nursing staff we interacted with,” said AtlantiCare Vice President of Strategic Planning said Ira R. Peezick. “We visited approximately 25 patients during the course of the morning in such areas as The Heart Institute, Joint Replacement Institute, the Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit, the Intensive Care Unit, and the Oncology Unit.”
AtlantiCare’s Military Employee Resources Group had tables set up Sunday and Monday outside the City and Mainland Campus cafeterias where veterans information was distributed and fundraising activities took place.
“We just want to cheer them up with a bit of conversation,” said Paul Berenotto, Rolling Thunder president. “We want to thank them for their service. We want them to know that it’s not been forgotten.”
The patients were glad to chat with their visitors.
Charles Parkin Sr., a World War II Navy veteran, was being visited by his son, Charles Parkin Jr., a Vietnam era Air Force veteran when the Rolling Thunder group came by.
“A lot of people served,” Parkin Sr. said. “Some baseball players gave up their careers. We signed up for the duration. I was to serve in the Pacific. I was halfway over when they dropped the bomb. I didn’t have enough time to be discharged. They sent me to Hawaii where we guarded the beaches that were filled with beautiful women.”
And while Parkin Jr. served during the Vietnam era, he said his service time was spent in Italy and Arizona.
Rolling Thunder member Rocky Cosentino has a background the veterans could relate to. He served at the Battle of the Bulge.
According to Peezick there are about 200 veterans or those currently serving in the military among AtlantiCare’s 5,000 worker force.
“The Resources Group is specifically designated to educate the employee workforce about military and veterans issues,” Peezick said.
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