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GREENBURGH, N.Y. More than 300 veterans and their families are set to attend the Town of Greenburgh's third annual Veterans Appreciation Barbecue Thursday evening.
The highlight of the event is Assistant Town Supervisor Alan Hochberg's and Veterans Advisory Co-Chair Steve Wittenberg's compilation of 90 taped interviews with veterans from Greenburgh documenting their war experiences in World War II, which will be presented to U.S. Congress member Nita Lowey (D-Harrison) and archived at the U.S. Library of Congress.
"It's an unbelievable experience and humbling for me," Hochberg said about his interview with the veterans. "There was one recurring theme among them that they don't see themselves as heroes in any way. They just did their job."
The interviews, compiled over the past two years, will also be broadcast throughout the event, as well as all day on Greenburgh Access Television during Veterans Day on Nov. 12.
Hochberg added that he's especially excited to give the tapes over to the Greenburgh Public Library. Recording the area's veterans and making their heroic efforts available to the town was the reason he and Wittenberg began the project in the first place, he said.
"We felt the town had no record of their memories," Hochberg said. "We wanted the children who go to school in Greenburgh and the villages to have an opportunity to learn about the sacrifices these men and women made during World War II."
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of Hudson Valley representatives will attend to notify veterans on updated information about their benefits and to register veterans for benefits. Other guests will also include an honor guard from West Point Military Academy.
Though the current tapes show only WWII, the project is still ongoing. They plan to interview veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars to preserve the veterans' living history, Hochberg said.
The appreciation barbecue will run from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Anthony F. Veteran Town Park, 11 Olympic Lane, in Ardsley. This event is not open to the public.
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