P.C. resident Chet Edwards earns spot in NYS Veterans Hall of Fame

December 6, 2023 at 10:44 p.m.

Port Chester resident Chester “Chet” Edwards was nominated to the New York State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame by Senator Shelley Mayer on Nov. 9 for his service both in and out of the U.S. armed forces. (Courtesy photo of The New York State Senate)

There are over 880,000 living veterans in New York State. And every year since 2005, members of the State Senate have honored a select group of them through an induction into the New York State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame.

This year, the Class of 2023 inductees included 58 veterans from various branches and eras. Among them is a familiar face to Port Chester.

Chester “Chet” Edwards was Senator Shelley Mayer’s nominee to the NYS Senate Veterans Hall of Fame, honored for his years of service in both the U.S. Navy, where he earned the rank of E-3 engineman, and the N.Y. State Guard, from which he retired as a colonel in 2018.

During his service in Vietnam, Edwards was awarded several recognitions, including a Combat Action Ribbon and two Presidential Unit Citations. But his service to the American people didn’t end with the military.

Edwards would go on to volunteer with the Port Chester Fire Department and later the Port Chester-Rye Volunteer Ambulance Corps. He served the local community as a volunteer emergency responder for over 11 years. A retired teacher, he ultimately shifted his volunteerism towards benefiting area veterans.

Currently, Edwards serves as the executive director of the Westchester County Veterans Alliance, an advocacy group dedicated to bettering the lives of those who served. He is also on the board of directors of Hudson Valley Honor Flight, a nonprofit organization that pays for veterans to be flown to Washington, D.C. to visit memorials for free.

He works with various other veterans’ groups around the county and has served as a speaker at events, sharing the story of his time in Vietnam. For his continued contributions to both the residents of Port Chester and the lives of other veterans like himself, Mayer selected Edwards as her nominee for the Veterans Hall of Fame. It’s an honor that’s “well deserved,” Mayer said during a statewide ceremony held on Nov. 9. Edwards, a longtime Port Chester resident, lives in the village with Mary, his wife of 51 years.