Conversation with Benjie Brinkofski

Benjie Brinkofski is a New Jersey native who moved to Lakewood Ranch in 1998 with his wife and high school sweetheart, Pattie. A Vietnam veteran, Brinkofski has been involved in the local Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 12055 Braden River and has served on the board that organizes the Memorial Day “Tribute to Heroes” parade on Lakewood Ranch Main Street each year. This year, he was elected to serve as the parade’s grand marshal.

I’ve been involved in the parade since its inception. I was picked by the committee to serve as grand marshal — the past grand marshal elected me. He put my name in the running. I know them all. I’ve been involved for a long time. I will represent all the people who did not come back (from the wars). I’m trying to represent them so people will remember them. There was World War II, Korea wasn’t as good, and Vietnam was the worst. The military was shunned — they were protesting the war when I got off the plane. I’m representing the people who didn’t come back and the veterans who are still here who might need help. It’s a nice honor. I’ve been here a long time, and I’m surprised, but it makes sense.

“I’m representing the people who didn’t come back and the veterans that are still here that might need help.”

– Benjie Brinkofski, retired U.S. Army Sergeant of the Vietnam War.

I help out at the VA and the VFW trying to help veterans who need assistance. It’s a government bureaucracy that you have to understand.  I had help — people helped me when I was floundering. A person from the VFW pointed me in the right direction. In our post, we try to pass it on. Our VFW post is small — 80 members —we don’t have a building, and we rent a space at the Red Cross. It’s Braden River, Post 12055. We take the monies that we have and help people in the community —scholarships, and we speak to students periodically and help with education. People coming back now (from recent conflicts), we help them with paperwork and help point them in the right direction. A majority of them come back looking for assistance — they get debriefed now about what’s available. When we came back from Vietnam, we got nothing.

Memorial Day is important because the people that died need to be remembered. People that are still here need to be respected. I’ve gotten more thank-yous and positive comments in the last few years than I ever got in 40 years. It’s kind of late, but it’s still good. It’s been a while. We’re out there in the public eye and we donate to causes — we stay involved in the community. We try to keep it in our area here and help our people here in this area. 

The parade has gotten bigger, and it keeps growing. We’re running out of space. It’s a mile long, and we tried to move it this year, because last year, we had 43 groups in it. Main Street can’t handle it. The committee wanted to move it out, but you have to have the parade on a public road and get permits. Main Street wanted it here, and moving it out didn’t fly. It’s at least the size of Music on Main and getting bigger. After this year’s parade, we’ll review the good, the bad and the ugly of what happens and talk about how to fix any issues. We’ll have volunteers working the route to make sure people are staying safe.