Connecticut veterans getting new ID card for serving

Wallingford veteran's ID idea to become reality
Posted: Saturday, December 1, 2012
Laurie Rich Salerno

WALLINGFORD — About a year and a half ago, resident John Anzidei approached his elected officials with an idea: What if the state issued special identification cards for veterans who might not otherwise have easily accessible military identification for store discounts and other services?

Next year, the retired Army colonel’s concept, amended slightly, will become reality when Connecticut veterans will be able to apply for a special American flag insignia for their driver’s licenses and state ID cards, indicating that they served in the military. Some stores’ representatives said recently that they may not immediately accept the new symbol, but advocates are hoping that will change.

The introduction of the insignia “makes me very happy,” Anzidei said.

Though he has a military ID because he retired from an Army career, many non-career veterans he knows have nothing but discharge papers to prove that they served.

“I’m pretty much covered, but my son, my brother, my sister, different people that I know served in the military and because they didn’t retire and are not still active, they don’t have an ID card,” Anzidei said. Discounts were what gave Anzidei the initial idea for the ID, because his brother, Dominick, could not get the same discount he could at home improvement stores.
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