Meet Our Heroes

While living in Ozone Park, Queens, many of Frank Fontana’s friends enlisted in the US Army, so Frank followed suit. He was flown to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for training. Frank was a Sergeant; however, one of his houseboys fired Frank’s weapon unbeknownst to him, and because of this incident, Frank was demoted back to Private. He eventually worked his way back up the ranks to Corporal. 

Frank served in the Korean War – he remembers being stationed in Pusan and then traveling up North. He was in the chemical mortar battalion. Frank remembers seeing combat; sadly, there were many fatalities in his unit, and at one point, a mortar blew up right in front of him, throwing his body back. He was injured and sent to a hospital in Japan. He says he is lucky to be alive now! Frank received a Purple Heart award due to this incident.

When Frank returned after the war, he was discharged honorably. At this point, he went back to school at Queens College and NYU for landscape architecture. Frank states that the lifestyle of being in the Army and in war was not for him, and he was glad to come home and pursue school, a career, and his life. Frank went on to get married and had one son. Frank is now living his life to the fullest at The Arbors at Islandia East. He keeps himself busy with recreation activities, including the Veterans Voices program with the local school children.

First Sergeant Earl Douglas Brown, affectionately known as Doug, was born to a military family in Cherokee, North Carolina. He is proud of his Cherokee and Irish ancestry, but he is a true American through and through. Doug’s father and brothers were all military men, so at the age of 19, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, which led to a decorated military career.

Doug served in Vietnam from 1964-1965 and again in 1967, 1968, and 1969.

In Vietnam, he served in a special unit called the “Force Recon Rangers.” While stationed there, he assisted with secret patrols across the border and special operations. In 1962, before his 1964 descent to Vietnam, Doug was a Presidential Honor Guard to President John F. Kennedy. He would guard the Oval Office and make sure no one got to the president. “Every morning I would open those big oak doors to the Oval Office for the president.” When asked what he thought of President Kennedy, he spoke fondly of his memories of him. “I thought he was a great guy”. His children, Bobby and Caroline, used to roll across our shoes with their strollers”.

Doug recalls the first time he was sent overseas. “I was afraid,” he stated, but that fear soon disappeared. On March 8th, 1965, by order of President Johnson, his company was sent to guard a U.S. Air Force base. “It was 112°. It was hot! The mosquitoes could pick you up and fly away with you,” he recalled.

Doug has received many accolades and awards during his military service, including two Bronze Stars, four Purple Hearts, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Achievement Award, the P.U.C. Presidential Union Citation, the N.U.C. Navy Unit Citation and five South Vietnam Awards.

After the war, Doug applied to be a firefighter. He took a written test and was then sent to school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. While stationed in Billings, Montana, he flew airplanes during forest fire outbreaks. He eventually was transferred to Governors Island, where he remained for 15 years until his retirement at Fort Hamilton in December 2004.

Doug married Mary (Marie) Mea in August of 1964. He had met her while he was working at the White House, and she was a college student on tour. They have one daughter whom Doug loves with all his heart. He also has one grandson and two granddaughters, ages 16, 14, and 6. Doug has lived a tremendous life, full of heroism and devotion to his country. Doug enjoys the quieter pace of life now, while residing at The Arbors at Islandia West. He is active in our veteran affairs and was even in combat with Pat, our veteran liaison, in Vietnam. Doug also enjoys chatting with friends and sharing his experiences with staff.

Richard Brennan has served our country well with the U.S. Army. He joined the Army as a teen and vividly remembers his experiences in World War 2, the Korean War, and Desert Storm, where he was a Convoy Commander. Richard remembers, “These were hard times, but it was an honor serving.” Richard Brennan has enjoyed living at The Arbors at Hauppauge since 2018, has made many friendships and keeps busy with many recreational activities daily.

After serving in the Army, Richard drove a school bus and enjoyed making custom fishing rods. Richard has been married for 60 years. His passion is fishing, and would love to show you some of his favorite catches. He has caught a tiger shark from Fire Island, a bass from Cape Cod, and blue fish from Sunken Meadow, all hanging in his room. Richard attends the Arbors’ monthly Vets Chat, sharing stories with other veterans. He enjoys socializing with his friend while getting fresh air on the patio. Richard will definitely get up and cut a rug when we have live entertainment; he especially loves ’50s music.

Peter Infanti joined the US Army at the young age of 18 years old. He served as a Corporal during World War 2 and spent two years in the service. Peter was married for 40 years and has one son. He grew up in Howard Beach until he wed and moved to Hempstead, Long Island. For 32 years, Peter was a delivery driver for Nabisco. His hobbies included being a part of a bowling league and going to the casinos. Peter has resided at The Arbors at Hauppauge for four years and enjoys the many daily activities and has made many friends.

James Rizzo grew up near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Maybe that had nothing to do with his wartime fate, but when he was drafted into the military in 1942, at age 20, he landed in the army.

After basic training at Camp Crowder in Neosho, Missouri, Jimmy Rizzo, and a band of wilderness-savvy Louisiana boys were assigned to the Fifth Army’s 96th Infantry Division.

In 1943, the men boarded a Liberty ship for Algeria and were transferred to the British transports Banfour and Oriana, referred to by some as “coffin corners” due to their vulnerability to enemy planes. The nickname proved darkly appropriate when a German bomb sank the Oriana in the Mediterranean. Rizzo, luckily, was on the Banfour, which was spared.

After further travels, the boys of the 96th finally arrived at their post along the Burma Road. They reported to General Joseph Stillwell to serve alongside Chinese and Burmese soldiers. Rizzo worked as a warehouseman with the special operations group known as Merrill’s Marauders. His duty was retrieving supplies and packages by airdrop from dangerous jungles and terrains, ensuring these supplies arrived at their military and medical destinations on time and intact. His main job was to fix electrical equipment and deliver generators and other supplies. The job was a dangerous one, and during his time in Burma, he faced two near-death situations.

He was promoted from Private to Corporal and then to Sergeant and awarded the African and Burma Stars. Our nation will always be indebted to Sergeant Rizzo for his service and sacrifice, and his bravery and selflessness then and now continue to inspire us all.

In October of 2018, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) presented 96-year-old World War II Veteran Sergeant James Rizzo with a tribute the Congressman entered into the Congressional Record to honor his service and sacrifice. The ceremony took place at The Arbors Assisted Living in Islandia, where Sergeant Rizzo currently resides.

Angelo Panasci enlisted in the Army when he was 17 years old because that’s what all of his friends were doing! He was given the title of “Rifleman” and sent to Europe for training during World War II. While in Europe, Angelo met a fellow serviceman, Dennis, and the two became best friends; they were inseparable. Dennis grew up in England, and the two would often travel there to visit Dennis’ father, a Sea Captain, who would spoil them with freshly baked bread, meals, and whiskey! Shortly after he began training in Europe, Angelo remembers taking some sort of IQ test, and he scored so high that an officer told him he was too smart to be a rifleman and wanted to send him back to the States, where his intelligence could be utilized best. Angelo argued this, stating that he wanted to stay in Germany with all of his friends. The officer told Angelo, “if you’re 6 feet under, you won’t have any friends.” Angelo took a long, awful boat ride back to the US, where he trained with a then-brand-new computer company called IBM, whose equipment was used for cryptography by the US Army.

Once discharged, Angelo went on to follow in his father’s footsteps and began working in the Iron Union. He traveled all over the country with work; he states that after the war ended, the US was expanding and building exponentially, which offered him plenty of work. While on a job in Maine, Angelo met his future wife, Theresa, the thought of whom still makes him smile today. Angelo keeps in touch with his best friend from the Army, Dennis. To this day, the two talk once every few weeks.

Born in Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge neighborhood, Tony Pelle grew up in Mount Vernon, the City of Trees, in Westchester County. Upon being drafted into the Air Force in March 1943, he trained as a mechanic on the ground crew and shipped off. He served overseas in North Africa and off Gibraltar. His outfit sank five of the eleven warships the German Air Force had stationed in the vicinity.

Tony served for 27 months in total and returned to New York to work in the Stage Employees union. He enjoyed a long and exciting career working behind the scenes on television and Broadway.

He married in 1950 and has been blessed with two children, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Now residing at The Arbors at Bohemia, Tony is grateful for having use of all his faculties and prays that the America he grew up in is experienced by future generations.

Ron Hegdahl was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and it was there that he grew to love planes. As a child, he was always building model airplanes, gluing tiny pieces together, painting them, and then going to swap meets and meetings.

Although his father had joined the Army, he dreamt of joining the Air Force. Graduating from high school at 17, he couldn’t wait to enlist. He attempted to enroll but was denied because he was too young. He said waiting that whole year was “agonizing,” but at 18, he officially joined.

Ron loved the armed forces. He spent six years stationed in Texas and described the experience as fun. He said boot camp was his favorite because he had never shot a gun before. He also said that by the time he enrolled in 1957/58, women were beginning to get involved, too, and he thought that was “quite spectacular.”

Ron was an aircraft mechanic. While stationed in Texas, he studied and worked on B-52s and B-47s. At that time, they were the up-and-coming aircraft, and everyone was very excited about them. As Ron remembers, “they were going to be the future!”

After 6 years, Ron left the service, but continued to work for the government in the IRS wage and investment division. He was very proud to serve our country and continue his work in government.

Ron now lives a happy life at The Arbors, where he enjoys socializing with peers, reading books, and playing cards.

Ed Kissane served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Prior to being drafted, Ed was working as a metal cutter for Burlington Mills, which was located in the Empire State Building in NYC. Ed recalls that he was sent to Fort Dix, Texas, for boot camp training shortly after being drafted. When asked what this training was like, Ed smiled and, after much contemplation, stated, “What was training like? Well, when that bugle blew at 6 AM, you got up!” 

While in Texas, Ed remembers sleeping on the floor of the desert each night, and ironically, it is not his bunkmates he remembers most about this time, it is the snakes that would crawl into their sleeping bags at night, stirring quite the commotion among the group. Ed also remembers being told to take his boots off, but refusing, since you never knew what would “cozy inside of them.” Ed’s fondest memory of boot camp is a Sargent whom he got very close to and respected immensely. Ed explains that he ended up naming his first son after this man, Steve, who was fair and kind and took a liking to Ed.

Although Ed was in the Korean War, he was never sent to Korea. Instead, he was stationed in France, where his job was to monitor Russian infiltration. If the Russians came through, Ed’s job was to get the women and children safely to the ships docked at the Port of Marseille.

After the military, Ed, who was about 23 years old, went back to work for Burlington Mills in NYC. He says, “I got myself educated and found my career in teaching.” Ed went on to teach High School Social Studies for 30 years.

Eugene Carbone has been living with us at The Arbors at Hauppauge for over a year. Eugene is a veteran and served during Vietnam from 1966 -1967 in the Army 199^th Infantry Brigade. Originally from the Bronx, Eugene moved to Amityville and married in 1968. Eugene worked on Wall Street as a Brokerage clerk for 20 years, then he worked at the Department of Public Works. Eugene joined the American Legion, where he attended various social gatherings and enjoyed hanging out with other Veterans. Eugene loves to dance and looks forward to being a bartender at many dances hosted at the American Legion. 

Eugene continues to enjoy his life here at the Arbors. He can often be seen cutting a rug at our happy hour and parties. Eugene has a passion for the arts; in his room are many of the paintings he has done over the years. Eugene continues to attend art classes and recently expressed that he is getting back into playing his guitar. We look forward to hearing from him at our next talent show.

Pasquale “Pat” Pagliarulo – U.S. Army 128^th Artillery

Pasqual, affectionately known as Pat, was born in Bari, Italy. In October 1946, he came to the U.S. and settled in Copiague, NY. Just five short years later, not even an American citizen, he was drafted into the Army’s 128th Artillery. Although he never saw combat, Pat spent two years in the army, where he trained on ships in the event of an attack.

In 1953, Pat became an American Citizen. Reflecting on his time in service, Pat says it was “the best time of my life.” He was honored to serve the ”BEST country in the world,” and becoming an American citizen is one of his biggest accomplishments; “I am so PROUD.”

After the service, Pat married his first wife, Joan and had his son, Kenny. After Joan passed, he married Anne. Now, he resides at The Arbors of Islandia West, where he enjoys socializing with his friends and doing activities. “The Arbors is beautiful, and the staff are truly angels.”

We welcome Charles Sterns, who is a relatively new resident of The Arbors at Hauppauge community. Charles is a veteran and served in the U.S. Air Force. Apart from the Strategic Air Command, Charles flew B-52s and worked with KC-135 tankers during the Korean War. Charles was born and raised in Athens, New York. It was here that his passion for flying started. His family owned the local airport in Athens, so Charles was surrounded by planes as a child. After graduating from flight school, Charles became a flight engineer and worked at Lockheed Aircraft and then Air Research Aviation for 18 years. 

Charles has traveled all over the world and partnered with a friend to start an airplane maintenance business in Johannesburg, South Africa. He married his high school sweetheart, Anne and settled down in Dix Hills with their five children. Thank you, Charles, for your service.

Army Airman George Starkensen was born in Bergen, Norway and emigrated to the United States as a toddler. He landed in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and stayed there until 1953, when he enlisted in the Army to prevent being drafted. He went for his Basic Training in Fort Dix before shipping out to serve in Germany and France during the Korean War.

When George returned home from overseas, he took advantage of the GI Bill and earned his degree in mechanical engineering. This led to a career first at Grumman and then at Dayton T. Brown, which took him around the country to California and back.

Along the way, George married and had four daughters who have given him nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren so far. Currently residing at The Arbors in Bohemia, George hopes for no more fighting and no more wars with peace in the valley for all.