Veterans honored at Vannie golf outing

A room filled with dozens of people, including veterans, golf enthusiasts and members of the Riverdale community, stood for an ovation on Friday evening at the Van Cortlandt Lake House.

The ovation was directed at Sergeant First Class David Cyr, who had just finished delivering a heartfelt speech as the guest of honor of the second annual Military Outreach Golf Outing at the Van Cortlandt Park golf course. The event was organized by Paul Sliva, the head golf professional at Van Cortlandt, who knows Cyr from the 2nd Westchester Putnam Freemason Masonic District where Sliva is the president.

“We took it upon ourselves to do work, simple enough. Our veterans deserve everything we can give to them,” Sliva said about the event.

The 2nd Westchester Putnam Freemason Masonic District has a military outreach program, which helps out and works with military men and women. Sliva and Cyr are both masons, and after the success of last year’s inaugural event, Sliva asked Cyr to be a part of this year’s event.

The day started with an opening ceremony, followed by a team golf tournament, which was not deterred by the rain, and then the closing ceremony. At the ceremony, Cyr, who is currently stationed in Maine and who asked for the day off in order to attend the event, spoke to about 120 people who were in attendance.

“The people that are here are having a blast,” Cyr said. “It’s really cool to see. Everybody’s spirits are really high. They’re all having a good time, so the rain hasn’t dampened anybody’s spirits.”

Cyr’s message was in support of army veterans as he wants to raise awareness for veterans and what they go through in combat. For Cyr, the experience is indescribable.

“The reality is that when you go to combat, you experience things that, just to be straightforward, people who haven’t been to combat cannot comprehend,” Cyr said. “They cannot fully understand. The only thing that we can do is explain it to them the best we can to give them an idea of what we went through, what it’s like, so they’ll have a better understanding. To let them know that them participating in events like this is big because it’s going to help soldiers.”

Cyr hopes to be able to work with veterans in the near future, in order to make their transition from war to the everyday world easier.

“I would love to be able to become a licensed professional counselor so that I can donate my time to my community, to my brothers and sisters in arms,” Cyr said. “Hopefully help them.”

In the brief time Cyr spent at the event on Friday, he made a lasting impact.

“It was moving, beautiful and sad,” Sliva said of Cyr’s speech. “It shows what a true American hero really goes through without ever asking for thanks.”

The event proved to be a fun time for those in attendance, including Nate Maaskey, who became a celebrity throughout the day after a sinking a hole-in-one that he called, “probably more luck than anything.”

“I love events like this where you can bring everybody together,” Maaskey said. “It’s not as serious of a game because you have teammates that can pick you up. It’s just all about having fun. Everyone is out, just enjoying their Friday off from work.”

Sliva hopes to continue to host the Military Outreach Golf Outing in the future. To him, the day is an important reminder of how important military men and women are.

“I just want them to understand how important the men and women who serve our country are,” Sliva said. “And how poorly in many ways they’re treated and almost forgotten. And to let them know, they will never be forgotten here.”