Vietnam War veterans from Long Island honored for service

Thirty Vietnam War veterans from Long Island were honored for their service Saturday in Farmingdale with commemorative medals as presenters from the U.S. Army and state elected officials urged people to never forget the sacrifices they made.

The veterans were awarded the medals during a ceremony held at and hosted by the American Airpower Museum. This year marks the 10th year of when the nation launched a 13-year long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.

After receiving his medal, Jerry Bulzomi, 73, who served as a sergeant in the Army during a Vietnam tour when he was 18 years old, told Newsday he remembered the harsh weather conditions he and fellow soldiers endured during his time in Vietnam.

“We were out in the field all day long, in rice paddies, the water was up to here,” Bulzomi said, motioning to his waist. “It was different from coming from the city to going out there."

Bulzomi of Wading River had bitter memories of when he returned from his tour during the war.

“The problem is that you have all the memories from when you came home. The day I came home from Vietnam, I caught a cab, and halfway home, the guy in the cab told me to get out, that he didn’t want to take me," Bulzomi said. "Those are the memories you really have, but that’s life, and you just have to get through it.”

However, Bulzomi said he enjoyed the Saturday festivities and was glad that soldiers who serve today are given a warmer welcome than he received.

“I like what they do for the guys that come home now,” Bulzomi said. “My time has gone, it’s their time now.”

Ronald Organ, 74, of Middle Island, served as a sergeant in the Marine Corps from 1967 to 1968. Organ, who also received a medal, said he remembered “everyone that was with us that didn’t make it home and the friends we made.”

“There were good times occasionally, but for the most part, it’s the memories about those people, especially the ones who we were close to who didn’t make it,” said Organ, who was next to two of his grandchildren.

Organ said he and a group of fellow Vietnam veterans experienced post-traumatic stress disorder from their time in war. The group, he said, has since grown close.

“We stick together and we help each other get through the rough days and enjoy the good days together,” Organ said.

Medal recipient Anthony Carella of Stony Brook served as a specialist with the Army's 1st Air Cavalry  and was in Vietnam for 13 months.

Pointing out that his fellow veterans were often not welcomed back as heroes when they returned from Vietnam, Carella told Newsday, “It’s an honor for me to be here and to watch my brothers finally be welcomed.”