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Mostly Cloudy Thirteen veterans are honored for their service
Salisbury/East Meadow Senior Center partnership continues
“She stood me up on our first date,” Alfonso Caggiano, 93, said. “I was furious!”
Caggiano recalled meeting then 17-year-old Phyllis Riccardi in 1951 in Manhattan. After his 1946 discharge from the Army, he became a jewelry designer. Phyllis worked in a clothing factory. After she asked a co-worker about him, Caggiano asked her on a date.
“I lived in Brooklyn at that time, but we decided to meet in Manhattan,” Phyllis recounted. “But while I was getting ready for the date, my ex-boyfriend showed up at my front door.”
Her father had died in 1950, and her ex had dropped by to check up on her and her mother. Feeling uneasy about the visit, Phyllis decided to stay home and miss the date with Alfonso.
“I gave her a second chance,” Caggiano laughed. He told her about his experiences in the Army during World War II. He had been drafted in 1943, and was later deployed to France and Italy with the Infantry’s 36th Division Heavy Weapons, Company M. Although he did not see fierce fighting, Caggiano said his time in the Army taught him myriad lessons, including the importance of giving people second chances.
“Look at us now!” he exclaimed.
The couple wed on June 7, 1952. “We just celebrated our 65th anniversary,” said Phyllis, a co-president of the Salisbury/East Meadow Senior Center.
She, along with member Kathleen Comack and the center’s director, Helen Palagonia, organized a ceremony recognizing 13 veterans from East Meadow, Salisbury and elsewhere on the South Shore on Aug. 17. State Assemblyman Thomas McKevitt issued citations to the veterans.
“It feels amazing to be recognized,” said Carmen Rivera, 69. Rivera served in the Army from 1973 to 1979 and was stationed in Germany for the majority of her deployment. For a brief time, she said, she was stationed in the Hurtgen Forest — the infamous Black Forest — where 30 years before, German and American forces had battled in one of the deadliest confrontations of World War II.
“I loved serving my country,” Rivera continued. “I wanted to get away from my parents and be free. But I didn’t realize that I was also protecting my freedom.”
Born in Puerto Rico, Rivera immigrated to the United States when she was 12 and did not think about the military until she craved independence. After her discharge, she worked in a post office for 26 years. Now retired, she lives in the senior center, where she often participates in its events — which, she added, have expanded since the Salisbury and East Meadow senior centers merged in January.
“I’ve made twice as many friends here now,” Rivera said. As she accepted her citation, the crowd cheered. She swayed to music played by the Emmens Band, a Long Island-based group.
Judy Vulpi, the center’s other co-president, said that the Salisbury center periodically honored veterans with dinners and dances before the merger. Phyllis Caggiano said that the East Meadow center honored veterans annually and wanted to continue that tradition.
“Our East Meadow members and Salisbury members are getting along so well,” she said. “It’s fantastic! Each event has been a success so far.”
“We’ve always enjoyed honoring the veterans as a senior center,” Comack said. “That’s not going to stop.”
Caggiano said that the center will maintain the same level of camaraderie that it has in the past, but first residents must select a president in September.
“Judy and I think that because everyone has gotten along so well, the September elections will be smooth,” Phyllis said. “There are no losers here.”
