Parent of Fallen Soldier Pleads for Homeless Vet Donations

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.”

 Supervisor Bill Wilkinson and the board were in full support of Kremm’s initiative. “I’m sure the board will be 100 percent behind you,” Wilkinson said. “Anything you need, just let me know."

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.

Kremm, a veteran himself, told the board many don’t understand what a veteran has done. “I drive a pickup truck and on the back of my truck it says, ‘Like Your Freedom? Thank a vet.” Last summer, a lady parked next to me and go out of the car and she asked me, ‘What should I do for dry skin on my cat?’.”

Following a chuckle from the crowd, Kremm explained that veterans are suffering no matter what war they fought in. “It doesn’t matter if they were in Da Nang, didn’t matter if they were in Detroit, didn’t matter if they were a librarian, or a gunner. Whatever they were, they went and gave years of their life to the country to make our lives better.”

There are already boxes at the sanitation and parks departments, as well as the Natural Resources office. He said he will pick up the donations on the 15th of every month or whenever the boxes are full.

Kremm said he is in the process of creating U4 Vets, “instead of vets for you,” he said. He is working with other organizations that he is involved in such as Northport VA Medical Center and “Stand Down,” which helps homeless veterans, as well as the Coast Guard and the Red Cross. He said the Civil Service Employment Association has also been supportive.

Wilkinson asked if the American Legion and local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars was involved. Kremm said that while the legion had donated money for him to buy item for homeless vets, dwindling memberships have not make it possible for the organization to do more.