HONOR A VETERAN

The History
In June of 1993, a committee was formed by the Albany County Veterans Bureau known as the Albany County Honor-A-Veteran Committee. The committee was formed to honor a deceased Albany County veteran, who has served his country in time of conflict.

The Ceremony
The Honor A Veteran Program is a monthly event which takes place on the first Monday of each month at one of the Albany County American Legion Posts. The program starts promptly at 8:30am and lasts about one hour.

The very dignified program honors the veteran with a county proclamation delivered by County Executive Daniel P. McCoy. Congressman Paul Tonko presents a flag that has flown over our Nations’ Capital in honor of the deceased veteran.

After proclamations are presented to the family of the veteran the ceremony adjourns to the outside front of the building for the raising of the American Flag in tribute of our honored veteran. The flag is flown for one month then taken down and given to the Honoree’s family by the Chair of the Honor A Vet Selection Committee. Photos of the ceremony are also provided to the family.

You can view the history of our honorees dating back to 2002, when we first started adding them to our website, by selecting a year from our menu at right. Starting in the summer of 2012 we have made available video highlights of the ceremonies on our YouTube channel.

The Nomination Process
Anyone (e.g., family, friends, funeral directors, veterans organizations) may submit nominating resumes directly to the committee. The following requirements must be satisfied, with supporting documentation:

1. The nominee must be a deceased veteran with ties to Albany County. The veteran must have lived most of his or her life in Albany County and must have been a county resident at the time of death. The family must currently reside within Albany County. Please have any necessary documents available for committee, such as a death notice for the veteran, something showing his or her connection to Albany County and proof of residency for the family.
2. The veteran must have been honorably discharged. Please have a copy of DD-214 available to submit to the committee.
3. Please list any campaigns, battles or other actions he or she participated in.
4. Be sure to mention any medals, awards, citations and so forth the veteran received.
5. Please provide a brief history of the nominee’s service. Include any locations, dates and other relevant information.
6. Please tell us the nominee’s rank and service number (should be with DD-214).
7. Tell us about the veteran’s civilian service, if appropriate (include all community activities and service, as well as any participation in organizations and memberships).
8. Be sure to include a telephone number of the primary family member so we can contact the family.
9. IMPORTANT!  Please submit a copy of the nominee’s obituary along with your nomination.

You can start the nomination process by sending nominating resumes to:

The Honor-A-Veteran ceremony is held every month to honor a deceased veteran of the community.