Al Kohanowich, star athlete at Hempstead HS and decorated Vietnam veteran, dies at 90

If a movie were made about Al Kohanowich's life, it might be hard to believe it is a true story.

Kohanowich was a two-sport star at Hempstead High School and won the 1948 Thorp Award, which is given to Nassau County's top football player. In track, he set the county record in the high jump the same year. He went on to compete in both sports at the University of Notre Dame, where he played football for legendary coach Frank Leahy.

After college, Kohanowich joined the Marine Corps in 1953 and became a helicopter pilot. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and a Purple Heart for his heroism during combat missions in the Vietnam War.

"My dad was like John Wayne, he really was," his son, Kurt Kohanowich, 58, of California, said. "He was just a very stoic guy who always had a positive mental attitude."

Albert Kohanowich died on July 28 at his home in San Diego, California, his family said. He was 90.

In Vietnam, Kohanowich would fly rescue missions to extract wounded Marines from the battlefield, sometimes under heavy fire. He was shot in the leg and the hand during a mission on Feb. 23, 1966.

"No one knew where the bullet was after it went through my leg," he wrote in his diary, which was posted by his son on popasmoke.com, a website started by the U.S. Marine Corps Helicopter Association.

"When I was hit, I grabbed my leg and the crew chief came over . . . and put a tourniquet on my leg to stop the bleeding. When I grabbed my leg . . . I thought the blood in my glove was from the leg. I actually drained blood out of my glove."

After recovering from his wounds, Kohanowich stayed in the Marines, taking up a post in Okinawa, Japan, and becoming a commanding officer of a squadron in Cherry Point, North Carolina, his son said. He retired in 1973 after 20 years of active service, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel.

At Hempstead High School, he was the captain of the football and track teams. In April 1948, he cleared 6 feet, 3 1/2 inches in the high jump, a Long Island high school record at the time, according to Newsday records.

Kohanowich received a full scholarship to play defensive end at Notre Dame. He also continued to compete in the high jump and broad jump for the Fighting Irish.

"He loved the fact that he went to Notre Dame," Kurt Kohanowich said. "That was part of his life. He was very proud that he played for Leahy. . . . It was a big part of his life and who he was, that he was a Notre Dame graduate and a Marine."

Born Sept. 5, 1930, in New Jersey, Al Kohanowich grew up in Hempstead. After the Marines, he raised his family in Florida, where he worked as a handyman and owned a grocery store. He also briefly coached high school football at Pensacola Catholic High School. He moved to California in 1981, where he lived until his death.

"Everybody wanted to be his friend," his sister, Barbara Toscano, 86, of Smithtown, said. "He was good with everyone. He had no prejudices. . . . We were taught to accept everybody for who they were and that's the kind of person he was throughout his life. He made no judgment of other people."

Kohanowich was an avid hunter who spent some of his retirement working as a guide at his brother Walter’s hunting lodge in Bozeman, Montana. Walter Kohanowich, who died in 2020, was Hofstra's first five-sport athlete and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2006.

Al Kohanowich also loved dogs, once rushing to save the family pet, Barney, who was being attacked by another dog.

"There was a big German shepherd or something that had gotten loose and grabbed Barney by the back of the neck," said daughter Karen Kohanowich, 61, of Virginia. "Dad leapt off the porch and basically, in two steps, made it across the street, grabbed the dog by the tail and swung him around. The dog dropped Barney."

In addition to his son, daughter, and sister, Al Kohanowich is survived by his wife of 32 years Dorothy Kohanowich of California, daughter Katrina Bass of California, former wife Harriet Longuet of California, five stepchildren, 13 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. A funeral service will be held on Aug. 31 at the Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego, where Al Kohanowich will be buried, his son said.