VIDEO: Students Honor Veteran Walter Flaherty

World War II veteran , of Hampton Bays became the first veteran honored as part of a new Hampton Bays School district program that takes learning out of the text books by recognizing an area veteran each month.

Flaherty was recognized as during an annual Veterans Day ceremony, held on Thursday morning at . A flag will fly at the school in his honor.

Flaherty, 91, originally from Ridgewood, moved to Hampton Bays after World War II where he served from Jan. 10, 1942 until Oct. 15, 1945 in the 741st Tank Battalion in the European Theater area of operations. Flaherty, like so many other World War vets, landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. His job was to work in the dark of night to clear roads that may have had land mines.

To see photos from the event, click here.