A resolution, proposed by Nassau County Legislator Dennis Dunne, a Levittown resident, was passed by the legislature to designate Jerusalem Avenue from Spindle Road to Hempstead Turnpike and Gardiners Avenue from Hempstead Turnpike to North Jerusalem Road as Vietnam War Veterans Memorial Drive in honor of the 29 boys from Levittown who were killed in the war.

The new name of the county road, which changes from Gardiners to Jerusalem as you cross over Hempstead Turnpike, heading North, will be an honorary name, similar to the way Meadowbrook Parkway was dubbed Senator Norman Levy Parkway. According to the legislation, signs, designating the road as Vietnam War Veterans Memorial Drive, will be placed conspicuously along the roadway.

Dunne proposed this legislation after the county legislature renamed a section of Merrick Road Korean War Veterans' Memorial Drive. Dunne, a Vietnam veteran himself stated, "I'm not just going to do Korea, I have to do Vietnam too, and where better than a place that lost 29 of its sons to Vietnam." From the figures that he has collected, Dunne believes that this is the largest number of men from any single area in Nassau County who lost their lilves in Vietnam.

In explaining why Levittown had such a high mortality rate, Dunne said, "We were the best recruiting section because it was built for veterans by veterans and the sons of those veterans were very patriotic and went to war, joined the military, whether it be the marine corps or the army, the air force or the navy, we were there and an awful lot of boys came home wounded, and an awful lot of them, 29 of them, came home in boxes." He added that this is part of Levittown's history and he is proud of those men who gave their lives and does not want the children of Levittown to forget them and the fact that Levittown was an integral part of that war.

This is a very personal issue for Dunne because, besides being injured himself in Vietnam, he lost many friends he grew up with in the war. Dunne hopes that honoring the sons of Levittown who lost their lives in Vietnam will help relieve some of the pain that is still felt by the family and friends of those men and those who came home from the war and are still dealing with their experience.

There will also be a candlelight vigil held on Oct. 9 for the Gold Star families from Vietnam, the families of those 29 young men who lost their lives in the war. According to Dunne, many of these families still live in the area and will be taking part in the vigil. "It's going to be great for them to see that their sons are not forgotten but it's also going to be educational for the community because nobody even realizes or cares that these kids grew up in Levittown and died in the war. How can we forget these guys?" Dunne reads the names of the young men lost in Vietnam at the Memorial Day Parade every year, but says that is not enough. "This is something more that we can do and that we are doing."

Although the county has passed the legislation to rename the Gardiners and Jerusalem Avenues in Levittown, Dunne does not yet know when the ceremony to make the naming official will take place because he is hoping that the Town of Hempstead will get involved and pass a similar resolution for the side streets off of Gardiners and Jerusalem, naming 29 of those streets in honor of each of the men who were killed, with a gold star next to their name on the signs. As of yet, no official resolution has been placed before the town on this matter so there is no way of knowing whether or not the side streets will also be given honorary names.