Parent of Fallen Soldier Pleads for Homeless Vet Donations

Parent of Fallen Soldier Pleads for Homeless Vet Donations
J.J. Kremm, who is also a veteran, has received the town board's permission to put a donation box at town hall.
By Taylor K. Vecsey

Kremm's son Marine Lance Cpl. Jared J. Kremm of Hauppauge was killed in Saqlawiyah, Iraq on Oct. 27, 2005. He was 24. Posthumously, he was awarded the Purple Heart.

J.J. Kremm, a town sanitation worker and veteran whose son was killed in Iraq five years ago, issued an impassioned plea for donations for homeless veterans on Thursday night.

Over 100 veterans between East Hampton and Northport are sleeping in their cars or on the streets and going without food, he said. He asked the East Hampton Town Board for permission to place a donation box for an non-profit organization he is starting called U 4 Vets.

“To turnaround and to know people are living in cars and starving, I just can’t fathom that,” he told the board.

“I don’t want any money or anything. I just want somebody to do a simple thing,” he said before the board. “If you go to the store and there are 10 cans for $10, then buy the 10, take eight home, put two in a box.”

“It’s not going to cost a lot. I know times are really hard,” he said. “I just want you to think how hard life would be if you were standing in a concentration camp because the reason we’re not is veterans.”
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Parent of Fallen Soldier Pleads for Homeless Vet Donations