‘Mail Call’

Center Moriches student Meghan Bukowski recently completed a community service project, collecting more than 100 letters from elementary school students for veterans traveling on the annual Honor Flight.

Bukowski said she decided to help because last spring, her uncle was one of the veterans on the Honor Flight.

“He was so impressed with the organization and the trip that he brought my cousins and I to the commemorative ceremony in August,” she said, noting they met several veterans he flew with and were presented with memory books from the trip. “I knew I would be working on a community service project this year, so I asked my uncle for their contact information.”

Once she got in touch, she offered to create letters for their mail call.

“I knew my uncle appreciated the letters he received. There are some veterans who don’t have family to send cards, and so I thought I could help fill that need,” she explained.

She also prepared a slide show about the organization and teamed up with her 12th-grade social studies teacher, Dr. Flynn-Trace, and her former third-grade teacher, Mrs. Volo. She then visited their classrooms and helped the students write thank-you cards for the veterans.

“She did an awesome job!” added mail call coordinator Jane Koropsak.

Koropsak coordinates “mail call” for the veterans flying on Honor Flights by contacting their family and friends and allowing them to write letters to their veteran. A mailbag is then created for each veteran to read during their flight.

Also, they collect photos of the veterans from their time serving. The photos are then shown on the bus as they travel around Washington, D.C.

The most recent Honor Flight event took place recently, on April 29. The flight takes veterans on an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the war memorials and Arlington National Cemetery, thanking them for their service. The organization currently accepts applications for WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and terminally ill veterans from other wars. Veterans are placed on the waiting list on a first-come, first-served basis. For more info on Honor Flight Long Island: honorflightlongisland.org.