Politics & Government

Presidential Debate on Foreign Policy Reminds Us That All Politics Is Local

Ahead of the Presidential debate on foreign policy, we take a look back at stories surrounding the issues.

They say that all of politics is local. No matter how big of an issue, it somehow affects those who live in communities like ours. The final debate scheduled for Monday night at 9, between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney will focus on foreign policy.

The biggest foreign policy issue for the last three presidential terms has to be terrorism and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As the candidates debate foreign policy, Patch looks back at some of the stories we covered on the local effects on the community of America's ongoing wars.

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Find out what's happening in East Hamptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"My first reaction is to cry and I don't know why," JoAnn Lyles said on Monday morning of the instant she heard the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed. Lyles' son Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter was killed when a suicide bomber approached the base he and another marine were guarding in Iraq in 2008.

On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the mother of fallen soldier Jordan C. Haerter recalls how 9/11 framed her son's decision to join the Marines. At 13, Haerter made a trip to visit his aunt and they visited the Twin Towers on Aug. 29, 2001. 

Osama’s Death Triggers Emotional Recollections

East Hampton Village Mayor Paul Rickenbach vividly recalls the anguish he felt on 9/11: His daughter, Karen Mesiha, was working in the South Tower — and for hours, he did not know if she was alive. In Sag Harbor, hearts were heavy. Resident Doris Gronlund’s daughter Linda Gronlund was 46 when she died aboard Flight 93, where she helped fight back against terrorists who were plotting to crash the plane into the White House.

Sag Harbor Welcomes Combat Medic Home 

Army National Guard Sgt. Charles Glass, who lives on Bay Point and has been away nine months, flew into Long Island MacArthur Airport on Friday night around 11 and was met not only by his wife and family, but by firefighters and emergency medical services volunteers from all over Suffolk County as well.

Shelter Island Marine Welcomed Home

Marine Lance Cpl. Michael "Zach" Mundy flew home from his base in Hawaii, after returning from a tour in Afghanistan, and was greeted by many along the way, including in Sag Harbor.

Recent Grad Heads To Army's Boot Camp

Joseph Gambino, who knew both of the soldiers from the East End who were killed since 9/11, says he is fulfilling his lifelong dream.

30 Wounded Warriors Celebrate Soldier Ride Finish at 'Rock the Farm'

 Using hand cycles or bicycles, some of the wounded participated in rides from Manhattan to Brooklyn, Babylon to Jones Beach, and then a 30-mile round-trip from Amagansett to Sag Harbor or the extended 60-mile trip to Montauk, in honor of the late Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter, who was from Sag Harbor. 

New York State Sen. Kenneth P. LaValle and Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. welcomed JoAnn Lyles, the mother of Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, and Chrystyna Keslter, the mother of U.S. Army 1st Lt. Joseph Theinert on May 22, as the fallen servicemen were inducted into the Senate's Veterans Hall of Fame.

Basketball Tournament To Be Held In Fallen Soldier's Honor

A three-on-three basketball tournament in honor of Army National Guard 1st Lt. Joseph J. Theinert of Shelter Island and Sag Harbor, who was killed in Afghanistan in June 2010, is held every November.


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