In its mission to take history out of the textbooks by honoring local veterans, the Hampton Bays School District paid tribute to Don Veeck during an annual fourth grade Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 7. The students both celebrated Veterans Day and honored Veeck, who is being recognized at the school by having an American flag flown in his honor throughout November. Veeck is the 83rd veteran to be honored by the district since 2011.

As part of the ceremony, held at Hampton Bays Elementary School, fourth grade students read Veeck’s biography, spoke about the importance of Veterans Day and sang patriotic songs. Also in attendance were local officials.

Veeck graduated from Southampton High School in 1965, where he played football and ran track. After high school, he attended the Rochester Institute of Technology and received an associate’s degree in food science technology and a bachelor’s degree in food administration, graduating in 1969.

In April 1970, he joined the Navy to “see the world” and began at the Great Lakes Training Facility. Because of his educational background, the Navy enlisted him as an E-3 instead of a basic enlistee. These extra responsibilities made him a master-at-arms. He did well in basic and graduated as the honor graduate of Company 172. He requested advanced training in navigation, but the Navy decided to use his education and sent him to a class “A” school in San Diego for 10 weeks of food service training. He graduated with the highest scores and attained the position of class petty officer.

His next assignment was to Newport, Rhode Island, on a frigate-class guided missile destroyer, the USS Dewey. The Dewey was in the Philadelphia Naval Yard being upgraded with new weapons and propulsion systems, so Veeck had shoreside duty until the ship had its sea trials and was recommissioned in May 1971. This sea duty kept him in the Atlantic Ocean with stops in Puerto Rico and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 1972, orders came for the ship to report to the “Med” (Mediterranean Voluntary Reporting Scheme) for anti-submarine activity hunting for Russian subs. While en route, orders were changed, and he escorted the carrier USS Americas from the Atlantic to the western Pacific via the Cape of Good Hope, with no transit through the Panama Canal – the Navy had ordered that he take “the long way.”

Western Pacific operations meant Vietnam. The destroyer’s assignments included shielding U.S. carriers, fire support for Army and Marine land operations, and recovering downed U.S. pilots from the Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea. During this 137-day deployment, the ship was given credit for shooting down a North Vietnamese MIG trying to attack a carrier.

Promoted to E-4, Veeck was responsible for food service recordkeeping and was the boat deck combat watcher. In the fall of 1972, the ship was reassigned to the Indian Ocean with a stop in Singapore, where Veeck was able to find turkeys for the crew to celebrate Thanksgiving. The ship’s next orders were to the Persian Gulf to participate in naval exercises with the countries of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.

Not going home yet, orders sent the Dewey to Kenya, Brazil, Trinidad and Port-au-Spain. Next stop was Puerto Rico and finally back to Rhode Island in December 1972. In 1973, after training in new anti-submarine warfare, new orders sent the Dewey to the “Med” again, escorting a U.S. carrier. There, the Dewey intercepted Russian submarines in the Strait of Gibraltar and forced the subs to leave the area. The tour included stops in Greece and Spain.

During that time, the Yom Kippur War began, and the Dewey was sent to Israel, where the Russian Navy had 70 ships available to support Egypt. In January 1974, the ship returned to Rhode Island, and in April, Veeck was promoted to E-5 before his honorable discharge from the Navy. His honors included the National Defense Medal, Vietnam medals and the Good Conduct Medal.

Veeck returned home, where he worked as the associate chef at the famous John Ducks restaurant for 20 years. He now runs his own property management and landscaping business. He has been married for 31 years and has four children and three grandchildren. He is an active member of the Hampton Bays Methodist Church and the sergeant-at-arms in the Hampton Bays American Legion.

To read Veeck’s full bio, click here to visit link.

Recognizing the importance of school safety and security, Hampton Bays Public Schools hosted a professional development assembly focused on behavioral threat assessment on Nov. 4. The event was facilitated by representatives from the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center and co-sponsored by Hampton Bays and the Southampton Town Police Department.

This was the first assembly on Long Island in nearly 10 years to address this topic, reflecting a renewed regional focus on proactive safety strategies and early intervention.

Participants from across Nassau and Suffolk counties attended, including law enforcement officials and school district personnel. Superintendents, administrators, school resource officers, security staff, guidance counselors, social workers and psychologists gathered to hear from national experts about identifying and supporting students who may be in distress. The training emphasized early intervention and prevention as central components in reducing the potential for school-based violence.

“Ensuring the safety of our students and staff requires teamwork, awareness and a commitment to prevention,” said Lars Clemenson, superintendent of schools. “By bringing together educational and law enforcement professionals, we are strengthening our collective ability to identify and support students in need before situations escalate.”

The program highlighted the importance of collaboration among schools, families and law enforcement to maintain safe and inclusive learning environments. Attendees learned practical strategies for assessing potential threats and providing appropriate support and resources to students showing signs of concern.

Dressed as princesses, superheroes and spooky characters, Hampton Bays Elementary School students paraded around the school’s bus loop on Oct. 31 for the school’s annual Harvest Parade. The smiling teachers and students marched and waved to the crowd of cheering onlookers as the sounds of traditional Halloween music played in the background.

Hampton Bays High School students who were selected to be part of the school’s Peer Educator program recently participated in a four-hour training on vaping, strategies teens can use to avoid vaping and how to handle peer pressure. The training was facilitated by representatives from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.

As peer educators, students work each year with the program’s advisers, health teacher Jake Davidson and school psychologist Michelle DeBlasio to create and conduct presentations for their peers and middle school students on important topics such as bullying, being an upstander rather than a bystander, making good choices and other character education topics. All presentations follow curriculum provided by the county health department.

Using information gained during their training, the peer leaders will focus on this year’s topic by sharing facts about vaping during morning announcements, creating informational posters for their school and hosting a “vape out” during the month of November.

 

Date Added: 10/30/2025

Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5350 and American Legion Post 924 recently visited Hampton Bays High School to speak to social studies students about the annual Voice of Democracy essay contest and share powerful accounts of their experiences serving in different branches of the U.S. military. They spoke about the significance of service to one’s school, community and country and encouraged students to consider the many ways they can make a difference. The visit included a question-and-answer session, allowing students to engage directly with local heroes.

 

Date Added: 10/29/2025