NEW CITY, NY, – Rockland County Executive Ed Day and Veteran Service Agency Director Susan Branam presented the first ever Veteran Pride Award to U.S. Navy Veteran Damaris Trinidad. The Veteran Pride Award is presented to recognize distinguished LGBTQ former service members who empower the next generation of military veterans to continue to serve beyond their time in uniform.

(Watch Ceremony)

Damaris Trinidad was born in 1967 in “Spanish Harlem” in New York City. She entered the U.S. Navy in 1986 serving as Company Commander of her boot camp, attending A-School in Pensacola to become a Cryptologic Technician, and serving at Guantanamo Bay where she became and E-5 and served as the NADAP (Navy Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention) coordinator for her command.

Most recently she became a mentor for the PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program, where she helps other veterans through outreach and counseling. She is a resident of Pearl River.

“Damaris was raised to love our country and defend it. And this award is just one way to acknowledge the struggle she faced while doing so,” said County Executive Day. “I am so thankful that Damaris is involved in the PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Program. We all need role models to relate to and Damaris is someone who we should all be proud of. Not only for her service in the U.S. Navy but for the care she gives to her mother and sister who are both fighting cancer. You make Rockland County proud,” concluded County Executive Day.