HONORING

Tales of 8 warriors from among over 500 who died in virus time

Over the past several weeks, more than 500 U.S. military veterans have been buried at Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale and Calverton National Cemetery in Suffolk County without the customary ceremonial honors due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Here are eight of their stories as we honor their service on Memorial Day:

Edwin Garrison, 94 — Army; Calverton National Cemetery

Edwin Garrison had written to his mother from England in the fall of 1944. The 18-yearold Army serviceman had heard World War II was coming to an end, and told her he would soon be home. Within three months, Garrison found himself in Vianden, Luxembourg, at the Battle of the Bulge — Adolf Hitler’s last major offensive campaign on the Western Front.

“When we were youngsters, he never talked about the war,” said his daughter, Alice Garrison. “All we knew was that it was very cold and dark in those woods.”

Garrison — a father of four, the husband of Elaine, and a member of the 1255th Engineer Combat Battalion that liberated Vianden — died May 7.

Keith Atkins, 59 — Private, Marine Corps; Calverton National

Keith Atkins had walked proudly with his Marine Corps platoon at his graduation in 1979. He had just completed basic training in South Carolina, and Atkins, then 19, was in his formal dress blues featuring the Corps’ globe and anchor insignia.

“We all piled in the van and drove down there to see him,” said his sister, Nicole Atkins, 51, who traveled with her family from Long Island for the big day. “I was a little kid, but I remember him having really shiny shoes. I thought he looked so handsome.”

Atkins, of Mount Vernon, Westchester County, a father of four, stepfather to three, one of eight children and the husband of Adrienne Atkins, died May 11.

“He loved life,” Nicole said. “His last days were some of the happiest, and that [gave us] peace.”

Jack Conyers, 94 — Sergeant, Army Air Forces; Long Island National

Jack Conyers met his wife, Nohora, on a blind date four decades ago. A friend had set them up, and the pair — formerly married with children of their own — had not put much stock in finding love.

That all changed when Nohora saw

Conyers — a tall, dark and handsome man with a smile that made her melt.

“Since the beginning, it was chemistry,” she said. “[It was there] until the end.”

Conyers, of Valley Stream, L.I., died April 19 from coronavirus. He served in the Army Air Forces, the precursor to the Air Force, in Alaska during World War II.

“The virus took my man away from me,” said Nohora, 81. “He was my best friend. I miss him every minute. I feel him around me.”

Beverly Cobbs Jr., 96 — Staff Sergeant, Army; Calverton National

Beverly Cobbs Jr. sat with his son-in-law

Barry Jackson on the Virginia Beach boardwalk about 20 years ago and told him about a time when he had to swerve out of enemy fire in the South Pacific.

“His entire unit was driving down the road. The vehicle in front of him got shot, the vehicle behind him got shot, and all that was left was him,” said Jackson, 69, a Vietnam vet who had exchanged war stories with his “Papasan” — Vietnamese for “head of the family.’”