WEST POINT – Nine former military members from Newburgh, Highland Falls, Poughkeepsie and Monroe were among 15 US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine honorees during the 2019 Veterans All White Affair Resiliency Awards gala at the Hotel Thayer Saturday evening. The awardees were presented with plaques to honor their service to their communities after successfully transitioning from military to civilian life.
Retired honorees from Newburgh were Elijah C. Beamon (Air Force – Tech Sgt.), Malcolm Burks (Army – Sgt. First Class), Jerrod Lang (Army – Specialist) and Maureen Weise-King (Army – First Sgt.).
Highland Falls residents Lesley Beckstrom (Army – Lt. Col.), Mike Beckstrom (Army – Lt. Col.) and Thomas Pitt (Marines – Corporal) were also honored, along with Rayford Watkins (Navy – Petty Officer 2ndClass) of Poughkeepsie and Monroe’s Patrick Davis (Army – Captain) of Monroe.
One hundred and thirty guests, who came from all over the Hudson Valley as well as Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Florida, Maryland and even Wiesbaden, Germany, attended the fifth-annual event.
“Promoting excellence is my strategy,” said re Ty King, the tired Army veteran who heads event organizer S4L (Soldiers 4 Life) Entertainment & Sports Management. “Twenty-two suicides each day occur in the veteran community. We specialize in raising the moral of veterans.”
![](https://hudsonvalleypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FDR-Web.jpg")
![](https://hudsonvalleypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Walden_Savings_Bank1.gif")
