Memorial Day in Croton

For the first time in several years we went to the Memorial Day ceremony, held at “Five Corners” in Croton. There was a very good crowd; I am sure there were over 250 people. The main speaker was U.S. Army Major (Ret.) Robert Vasta, a West Point grad and Green Beret. He spoke for about 15 minutes, and then his son Robert, who is attending the Air Force Academy, spoke for five minutes.

Here’s Bob Vasta

and here’s his son Robert

A few crowd shots

The Croton-Harmon High School Band –

Here is a picture of part of the Vasta family. Sal Vasta is in the middle, with Pat to his right. They have a total of nine children – seven sons and two daughters, so they are very well-known in Croton. I taught one of their children – Joe – who despite spending two years in my classroom doing science and math, was able to successfully attend the Air Force Academy. Another son, Tom, followed Sal Sr. into the construction business and coaches Tim for baseball.

The young woman on the right is Bob Vasta’s daughter Mary. She is also going to be following the family military tradition and will be attending the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs this fall.

I hope you will take the time to read the text of the personal talks Bob Vasta and his son gave on Memorial Day. Some interesting Croton history here.

Simply hit the post continuation below for the texts.

Memorial Day Address by U.S. Army Major (Ret.) Robert L. Vasta

May 28, 2007 Observance at Five Corners Veterans’ Memorial

Croton-on-Hudson, New York

Citizens of Croton, Veterans of Croton,

Good Morning! It is an honor and a privilege to be invited back to my hometown to give this Memorial Day address.

We have many Croton citizens who have given their lives for our country. Their names are on the monument here in this park. Today I would like to talk about two of these men, Irving Gerstein and Thomas Giglio. I talk about them because I grew up with their nephews, and I feel I know them through their nephews and families.

Irving Gerstein died in WWII, at age 24, on April 13, 1945 as he exited a burning tank in Germany. Irving was a true citizen soldier. He was born in Ossining, NY in 1921, graduated from Ossining High School in 1939. He was an entrepreneur at any early age.

At 18 years old he went into business with his Dad. Irving was the son in “Sol Gerstein and Son” hardware store in Croton. This business was a huge success in Croton. Irving and his Dad’s success was due to hard work, excellent organization, and most of all, GREAT Customer Service. The people of Croton bought their supplies at their store not only for the superb value, but more importantly, they enjoyed the friendship and hospitality of working with the Gerstein’s.

Two years after starting the hardware business, WWII started. Irving and his twin brother, Julius, went into the Army in 1942. Their brother George, at age 13, took Irving’s place in the hardware store, working after school and on weekends. While in the Army, the Gerstein twins trained in the States for three years and went to Europe in January 1945. They were in adjacent tank companies in the 3^rd Armor Division. Irving died on 13 April, but his parents were not notified until shortly before V-E Day, 8 May, 1945. When Julius returned home, he took his brother’s position and helped his Dad.

I grew up with Julies’ son, Irving. Irving was a very conscientious student, team player, and a good friend of mine. Irving always had a smile and was a very positive person. I enjoyed being Irving’s friend because he cared for others and always helped people. I also enjoyed going to the Gerstein’s hardware store on Saturday mornings with my Dad. It was exactly how Irving’s uncle and father had started the business. Great products, at good prices, but most of all, it was a very fun place to be on Saturday morning. I enjoyed meeting with the Gerstein’s as my father bought his building supplies. What I remember most is that the Gerstein’s really cared about the people they served. People always seemed to be first priority. I will never forget that life lesson – people first, and building lasting friendships. Irving must have been just like his nephew, brothers and father – people first, and be hospitable and caring about people. They truly gave back to the community.                                                                                           

The other veteran I would like to remember is Tommy Giglio. Tommy died on 14 November 1952. He served in the Korean War. His plane, returning to Korea from Japan, hit a 2,000-foot mountain, 20 miles east of Seoul. All 43 servicemen were killed. Tommy is remembered as a conscientious person, good student, handsome, outstanding athlete, and very considerate of others. I talked to some of his fellow high school classmates, Class of ’49, and they confirmed all these traits.

As I mentioned, Tommy was a great student and one of the best athletes at Croton Harmon High School. In one of his letters to his family, Tommy commented on how good he felt to be the only soldier, without previous college experience, to make the Ft. Dix Post football team.

Like the Gerstein’s, I grew up with Tommy’s nephews, Bobby and Tommy Giglio. Bobby and Tommy Giglio had the same traits as their uncle: handsome, good students, outstanding athletes, and most of all, considerate of others.

As a sophomore at Croton High School, I was the backup to our starting quarterback, Bernie Andrews. At practice I would join the huddle every day with Bobby Giglio. Bobby was the fullback. I would hand the ball off to him daily. Bobby always gave me confidence. He always had words of encouragement for me. But, most importantly, Bobby was a great role model. He was conscientious, hard working, and he always set a great example. I am sure his uncle Tommy was just like Bobby.

My growing up in Croton and being friends with people like the Gerstein’s and Giglio’s allowed me to share these same traits as I went on to the United States Military Academy at West Point. At West Point, I was always impressed with the great people that graduated from there. They had the highest values, ethics, and leadership qualities. The West Point motto is “Duty, Honor, Country”. I feel this motto and the values at West Point are directly related to Irving Gerstein and Tommy Giglio. I call it Gerstein-Giglio- Croton Hospitality.

In my 17-year Army career, I was able to bring the Gerstein-Giglio-Croton hospitality wherever I went in this world. In the spring of 1991, I had just returned from the first Gulf War and my Special Forces unit was sent back to Iraq to help the Kurdish people. The Kurdish people had recently been devastated by Saddam Hussein’s regime. The Kurds fled across the border into Turkey. Over 1 million Kurds were starving and homeless. As the Commander of a Special Force Company, my Company and I were sent to the border of Turkey and Iraq. My experience of growing up and having friends like the Gerstein’s and Giglio’s paid off. I wanted to do whatever I could to help the Kurdish people. In my assigned area we had approximately 60,000 starving Kurds. When we arrived, they were dying at a rate of 400 a week. My Company quickly improved the water source, provided food, shelter and medical treatment. Within 5 weeks the death rate decreased to only a handful of people per month.

                                                                                                                                  

One experience I will never forget was when a man flagged down my jeep as I was traveling in Iraq. He said they fled Saddam’s carnage with a newborn baby and a few cans of powdered baby formula. His newborn was going to die if they did not have more baby formula. I directed one of my sergeants to flag down the next helicopter and go back to the rear and get some baby formula. Within a few days and traveling over 600 miles, a large helicopter came in with pallets of baby formula. We were able to save the life of that baby and many others in the area. This is only one example of the Gerstein-Giglio-Croton hospitality that I was able to bring to people around the world.

It all comes from growing up in a hometown with people who pride themselves in taking care of others and caring for their community and country. It comes from families like the Gerstein’s and Giglio’s. We are all thankful for what Irving Gerstein and Tommy Giglio brought to our village. We must never forget their sacrifice, and many other Croton citizens, who gave their lives so we can live in peace in this great country.

Again, I would like to thank the Croton Veterans for inviting me to speak at this Memorial Day service. At this time I would like to introduce my son, Robert. He recently completed his sophomore year the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is an Eagle Scout, outstanding athlete, and an alumnus from the American Legion Boys State program. Please welcome Robert.

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Thank you, Dad.

I am glad I could make it here on such a beautiful Memorial Day in Croton. I just wanted to start off with a quote from George Washington, in a letter he wrote to Benedict Arnold.

George Washington wrote, “Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country.” This is true. The armed forces is an honorable profession, and I thank all of you (veterans) here today for serving your country, but most of all I would like to thank all of the soldiers who cannot be here with us today.

Memorial Day dates back to the Civil War where women in the South placed flags on the graves of fallen soldiers, and where the members in Waterloo, New York celebrated Decoration Day by also placing flags by the gravestones of dead soldiers. In 1868 General John Logan created Memorial Day and the holiday officially began. However, it wasn’t until the end of WWI that the South and the North came together to celebrate Memorial Day. And it was not declared a national holiday until 1971 when Congress passed the National Holiday Act, turning the last weekend in May into Memorial Day. Since then Memorial Day has remained quite the same with parades and many activities, like the one all of you have so wonderfully attended today. On the other hand, many people have forgotten about this holiday. Parades have stopped, some cemeteries forget to place flags by the graves of fallen soldiers, and many people have forgotten to place the flag half-mast for the entire day in remembrance of past soldiers. I also believe that many people have neglected the fact that this day is a day to recognize not only the members of the armed forces who have perished, but also the ones who are fighting today in Iraq.

Memorial Day should also be a time to reflect on those who have lost their lives recently in the war. I have done a large amount of traveling since I left for the Air Force Academy three years ago, and since then I see more and more troops in uniform walking through the airport. I try and make an effort to say thank you because even though I am in the military, they are the ones actually in combat. They are the ones that we could have to place a flag next to a year from now, and they deserve the recognition. Given our present war, this memorial holiday should be practiced every day because more and more people are dying in Iraq and they deserve to be thought of, not only the dead, but the injured as well. And we cannot afford to neglect the families of the service men and women who have lost their lives due to war because they have to go on without their loved ones.                                                                                                                            

Not only do I thank them, but I also thank those of you here today who have served this country. I thank you and our deceased service men and women for protecting our Constitution, protecting our individual freedoms that stem from the Bill of Rights, and most of all for the sacrifice many of you have made serving in the armed forces.

I ask you today to think about what I have said, to think about the 9,387 U.S. service men and women buried in Arlington, the 58,256 names on the Vietnam war memorial, and the 3,500 service men and women dead since 2003 in Iraq. Think about the families who grieve from east coast to west coast, and the families anxiously waiting for their loved ones to return home from our current war in Iraq. This memorial day I ask you to have a moment of silence during the National Moment of Remembrance beginning today at

3:00 p.m., for just a few minutes. This is for the service men and women who lost their lives in all wars from the birth of our nation to the present. I also wish that while in silence you think about their families left behind and especially those who are about to spend the first Memorial Day without their loved ones.

If you don’t mind, I would like to have a moment of silence for those who have lost their lives defending our nation.

Thank you.