Sayville Korea, Vietnam vets finally honored

SIXTY-ONE years ago, Theresa Perry packed up her infant son Bill for the drive from Sayville to Fort Benning, Ga., where she bid farewell to her husband, Sgt. Robert Ritter, days before he deployed to Korea.

Ritter, then 19, never made it home. Killed in action on or about Nov. 26, 1950, his remains lie in North Korea.

Monday, the son who never got to know his father will have the chance to honor his memory when Ritter's name and those of six men killed in Vietnam are officially unveiled on Sayville's almost century-old war memorial.

"He is finally getting the recognition he deserves," said the son, Bill Perry, who will accompany his 81-year-old mother to the site. "It definitely means the world to me -- and to my mom."

Until now, the monument at Sparrow Park included only the names of those who died in World Wars I and II.

"For a soldier to die for his country is not the worst fate -- being forgotten is," said Gary Vertichio, commander of the American Legion post in Sayville, which is conducting today's ceremony along with the local post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

For Chris Bodkin, lifelong Sayville resident, amateur historian and former Islip Town councilman who spearheaded the effort to add the names, the hamlet's gesture honors all those Americans who served in the two wars but were never recognized properly.

"They were both lousy wars and the nation was happy to be done with it," he said. "These poor guys were caught up in that mindset."

Bodkin had a special interest in getting the names added since he attended Sayville High School along with six of those being honored -- Ritter, Willard Spencer Lund, Merrill H. Masin, John M. Gibbons, George Daniel Miller and Lewis B. Gaiser.

Last year, his project drew the attention of Suffolk Legis. William Lindsay, who represents Sayville and for whom Bodkin works as a legislative aide, and Islip Town Supervisor Phil Nolan.

"The community has an obligation to remember the young men and women who gave their lives to our country," Lindsay said. "The monument feels good because now they will be remembered for all time."

No one is sure why the names of the Vietnam and Korean War dead were omitted. "But what matters is, in 2011, we're fixing it," said Nolan. "We can't turn back the hands of time, or fix the hurt, but today we're making it right."

The worst of days

The project has revived poignant and painful memories for the men's surviving relatives, friends and former comrades in arms.

"We drove through the night -- not easy with a baby," Theresa Perry recalls of the more than 1,000-mile journey to Georgia, hurriedly embarked on in September 1950 after Ritter phoned to say that he was shipping out to Korea in a matter of days.

"I immediately called his parents and they said, 'Come on, we're going' . . . We called it 'the trip to hell.' We got lost . . . at one point, we were on dirt roads."

Ritter had left school at 17 to join the Army. Theresa was a year older and working for a Sayville phone company.

Married at 19, Robert Ritter took new fatherhood seriously. "When they sent him to Georgia, he said he'd get housing," for his new family, Perry said. "Next thing we know, he says, 'Forget housing, I'm going.' "

She wrote every day

The last time she saw her husband at Fort Benning, Perry recalled: "We each wished one another good luck and I said I'd be writing every day, which I did. Every day I sent him a letter and vice versa. And when I got the news that he was MIA, I couldn't believe it. It was one of the worst days of my life . . . Oh, boy -- that's going way back to 1950."

Distraught as the days turned to months with no word from the Army, Theresa heard from the family of an American prisoner-of-war who said he'd seen Ritter's body lying beside a jeep after the Chinese army surprised American forces, crossing the Manchurian border into Korea. Ritter was a combat photographer, charged with sneaking up on enemy positions to take photographs as intelligence for U.S. attacks. His body was never recovered.

Bodkin, with help from two local researchers, spent the past year going through records and tracking down family and friends of the men to prepare a program for the ceremony that documents where they fought, what happened to each and their families and connections with Sayville. It will be distributed to family, friends and veterans.

Some of the seven have no known surviving relatives. But for others, as many as a dozen extended family members and friends will travel to today's ceremony.

Lewis Gaiser's twin, Ernie, will be there to see his brother's name added to the monument, and he couldn't be more proud.

"I was born and raised here and people I know were respectful of that sacrifice," said Gaiser, who also served in Vietnam. "But it always bothered me we weren't recognized on the local war memorials. The wall in Washington is one thing . . . but locally, beyond the immediate vets, unless you're a relative or close friend of someone who served, you separate yourself from that sacrifice."

Ernie Gaiser flew B-52 bombers in Vietnam while his brother was also there. He said that honoring Vietnam and Korean veterans' service is long overdue.

"Most of the people I know who went to Vietnam and came back don't talk about it," he said. "They were spat on when they returned. They didn't want to go, most of them. They were drafted and they are owed recognition."

Charles McGrath, 79, of Islip, said about a dozen family members will attend to honor his younger brother James, who "didn't like war, but being in the service, he'd do what he had to do."

"I'm sure many people have been slighted and ignored -- it just happens. Most people don't think about this much, unless they're affected."

Of the ceremony, he said: "I just hope Jimmy can hear it. I'm sure he'd be very honored . . . as we are."

A LOOK AT THE HONOREES

Sergeant Robert Milton Ritter, 19

ROLE: Combat photographer, U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division, Korea.

BORN: In Sayville, married Theresa Potucek of Bohemia, together had son William (Bill); Theresa later remarried Ritter's first cousin Max Perry, who adopted Bill.

KILLED: On or about Nov. 26, 1950, while in action against Chinese and North Korean units near the town of Huksu-ri. Army issued a "presumptive finding of death" on Dec. 31, 1953, but he is among 21 Long Islanders from the Korean War whose remains were never recovered.

Seaman James Patrick McGrath, 35

ROLE: Equipment operator, U.S. Navy, in Danang, Vietnam.

BORN: In Brooklyn. Enlisted in Army in June 1949, and later settled in West Sayville with family Joined the Navy in mid-1960s, becoming member of the Seabees, the naval construction unit that played key role building up infrastructure, including roads, schools and other municipal projects.

KILLED: In action Feb. 1, 1967, while constructing the deep-water port of Danang on the South China Sea. Buried with full military honors at St. Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale.

First Lieutenant Lewis B. Gaiser, 25

ROLE: Armored Reconnaissance Unit Commander for U.S. Army, stationed in Vietnam.

GRADUATED: Sayville High School in 1959, and graduated Bucknell University in 1965. As a student, he played band, was involved in football, basketball and student government. Was an accountant before joining the Army.

KILLED: In action June 27, 1967, in Hau Nghia Province, South Vietnam. Buried with full military honors in St Ann's Cemetery, Sayville. Medals include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Vietnam Service Medal.

Airman George Daniel Miller, 21

ROLE: Aviation fire control airman. Served aboard attack carrier USS Forrestal, stationed in Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam.

GRADUATED: From Sayville High School in 1964.

KILLED: In action July 29, 1967. The ship was in the midst of combat operations, launching fighters, when a malfunction on one jet led to a rocket launch that hit an aircraft piloted by then-Lt. (now Arizona Sen.) John McCain. The inferno from jet fuel and explosives killed 134 men, including Miller, and hurt 161.

Warrant Officer Willard Spencer Lund, 22

ROLE: 17th Cavalry, U.S. Army stationed in Vietnam. GRADUATED: Sayville High School in 1964. Joined the Army in April 1966. After service as a communications specialist, he completed flight training in 1968 and was assigned to Vietnam.

KILLED: In action March 18, 1969, in Long An Province, South Vietnam, when his helicopter gunship was shot down. Received numerous medals. Family held a burial in 1969 and a memorial in 2004 after more remains were found.

Captain John M. Gibbons, 23

ROLE: Helicopter platoon leader and flight leader, U.S. Army in Vietnam.

GRADUATED: Sayville High School 1964. Friends recall a quiet man who loved sports and was on the varsity football team in his senior year.

KILLED: In action Feb. 12, 1970, in command of a helicopter bringing forces into a landing zone under heavy enemy fire. Was headed to home base when he came under fire and was struck by several AK-47 rounds. Received numerous awards for service and heroism.

Captain Merrill H. Masin, 26

ROLE: Air Force combat pilot, stationed in Taiwan and Vietnam.

GRADUATED: Sayville High School in 1964, SUNY Stony Brook in 1968. Served a year in Vietnam as a fighter pilot, then trained as a heavy transportation pilot; began a second tour.

KILLED: in action in Vietnam on Aug. 12, 1972, when his C-130 aircraft was taking off from a base in South Vietnam and was struck by enemy fire and crashed, killing 30 of the 44 people onboard. Received numerous awards and was buried with full military honors at St. Ann's Cemetery, Sayville.