Most haven’t seen active duty in years.

They gathered for the Saratoga County Veterans Assistance Night and Job Fair, which was open to the public. The free expo ran from 6 - 10 p.m., and organizations provided information regarding housing, medical care, education and other services available to area veterans.

The New York Army National Guard, the New York Air National Guard and the U.S. Army, Navy and Coast Guard Auxiliary all had tables set up for military recruiting. There was also an impressive collection of G.I. Joe figures and vehicles on display and stations set up by more than 30 employers.

Robert Mitchell, director of Saratoga County Veterans Service Agency, has been involved with the biannual event since 1989. Since then, he said it has grown substantially.

In its infancy, the SCVANJF had 25 vendors and attracted about 100 veterans. This year’s expo had more than 90 booths, and the average draw these days is between 400 and 700.

Mitchell said their largest crowd ever was 1,200 people in 1991, toward the tail end of the Gulf War.

A retired petty officer first class, Mitchell served in the Navy for 20 years; he is one of the roughly 19,000 veterans in Saratoga County. He said he would like to see more families of veterans attend the event since they may be entitled to things they didn’t even know about.

Donald C. Fuss, a retired sergeant first class, has attended at least three or four of the previous expos.

“I come to see people I know, and to see what’s changed. I like to be updated,” he said.

Fuss served in the Army for approximately 24 years, including two tours in Vietnam. He spoke enthusiastically about a monument being built in Glen Falls that will honor veterans of any war.

John Svandrlik manned a booth for Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 79 at the SCVANJF.

During the war, Svandrlik had served as an engineman in the Navy’s Inshore Undersea Warfare Group.

After their combat time, he said the government wanted nothing to do with the soldiers. When Svandrlik returned to the United States, he found it difficult to find work.

“There were jobs to be found, but not good ones. It was 10 years before I found a good job,” he said.

Tuesday night was the second SCVANJF Svandrlik has been to. He found them both to be good experiences with a lot of helpful information.

“Anytime you can help a fellow veteran out it’s good,” Svandrlik said.

Assemblyman Roy McDonald, R-Wilton, served in the Vietnam War as an artillery forward observer for the U.S. Army’s First Cavalry Division. He participated in several combat assaults on the South Vietnam-Cambodian border as well as in Cambodia.

McDonald has been an advocate for veteran rights for a long time and pushed for legislation like his three successful Patriot Plan proposals, which provide, expand and protect soldiers’ benefits.

He believes veterans who served in Vietnam and Korea were shortchanged, and he never wants that to happen again.

“There are good wars and bad wars, but only good soldiers,” he said. “We have a moral obligation to make sure they get the benefits they’ve earned. One person doesn’t go to war; their friends and family go with them.”