Hometown Heroes Banners Unveiled, Honoring Southampton Town Veterans

World War II veterans, Korean War veterans, Vietnam War veterans and active duty military personnel received places of honor on Monday, May 22, as “Hometown Hero” banners were unveiled in Good Ground Park in Hampton Bays before a crowd of honorees, onlookers and Southampton Town officials.

Set on poles throughout the park’s walkways, the banners note each service member, with a photo from their time in the military and the names of family or friends who procured the banner on behalf of their loved one.

Working with Southampton Town’s community organization specialist, Jamie Bowden, Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara last year reached out to William Hughes, the commander of Westhampton VFW Post 5350, to brainstorm. They came up with the idea of placing the banners in Good Ground Park, where people will have the time to walk around, look at the banners and “view them with the respect they deserve.”

The councilwoman recalled hearing the stories of veterans when she served as an Honor Flight guardian and wanted to make Southampton’s Hometown Heroes program better. She and Bowden collected biographies of the honorees and, at either end of the park, there are places where a QR code may be scanned, which takes the visitor to a website filled with the honorees’ biographies.

With 23 people honored on 23 banners around the park, there wasn’t time to articulate the heroism of each person celebrated on Monday.

But McNamara made time to single out one honoree: She surprised Hughes with a banner of his own, and told his story to the dozens of people on hand for the event.

“It is because of his service to our community, and especially our veterans, that I thought it most fitting that William M. Hughes Jr. be our first honoree,” she said.

Hughes joined the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War and served as a pararescueman from 1969 to 1974. He was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for his “single acts of heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight,” the councilwoman related. He also received the Meritorious Service Medal and was inducted into the New York State Senate Veterans’ Hall of Fame in 2016.

After Vietnam, Hughes was a founding member of the Pararescue Team of the 106th Rescue Group New York Air National Guard in Westhampton, where he worked until his retirement from military service in 1991.

Hired as a patrol officer with the Southampton Town Police Department in 1981, Hughes served as the head of the town’s emergency response unit and retired with the rank of lieutenant in 2010.

“Outside of his professional work, Bill has established himself as an active participant in the community at large,” the councilwoman continued.

He is a past Grand Knight of the Hampton Bays Knights of Columbus Council 7023 and a Eucharistic minister at Saint Rosalie’s Church. He has been a member of the Hampton Bays Civic Association, the Michael Collins Division 11 of Hibernians, and has coached Hampton Bays Little League and other youth sports.

“Most of all, despite being retired from military service, Bill has never retired from service to America’s armed forces or her veterans,” McNamara said.

He is a longtime member of the Hand Aldrich Post 924 of the American Legion, and the Friends of the 106th. He has been commander of the Dayton-Soehike-Ohlhorst VFW Post 5350 in Westhampton for over 12 years, and has earned the distinction of being named an “All American” and “Legacy Life” member of the national Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Hughes stood solemnly nearby, his hands clasped in front of him, dark glasses shading his eyes as McNamara read the tribute. Taking the podium, he said, “It’s an honor to be here with so many of my friends and veteran friends.”

Reflecting before the event, Hughes said he thought of a fellow who worked at the Boardy Barn, a little guy named “Smitty.” In war, he carried a flamethrower. “That was his job,” Hughes said. A frequent target of the enemies, he received three Purple Hearts.

“I think about that little man,” Hughes continued, making the point that the average person doesn’t know the sacrifices and service people they see on the street may have made for the country.

Town Councilman Rick Martel’s father-in-law, Dominick Manglaviti, was a teenager when he enlisted and deployed during the Korean War. Manglaviti died in 1998. He was honored Monday with one of the banners.

“He knew he was supporting his country,” Martel said. “I knew him as a kind, hardworking man with so much pride in his country.”

He believes it’s important to tell his story and those of others who have served. “It’s important to keep their memory alive,” Martel said.

“Good Ground Park, a beautiful park, is made more beautiful by the presence of the banners,” Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said. Hampton Bays is a community that really cares about those who serve, he pointed out.

Singling out one banner honoree, East Quogue’s Ron Campsey, owner of the New Moon Cafe, Schneiderman said, “You took those bullets. You could have died seven times in one day.”

Turning to the audience, the supervisor said, “He’s a hero. It’s an honor to be in his presence.”

Schneiderman said he hopes the banners honoring Hometown Heroes becomes a town tradition. “After they’re gone, we need to remember them forever,” he said.

Pairs and groups of family members walked the park’s circle after the opening remarks, taking photographs with family and the honorees under their banners.

Bowden reported that she didn’t realize two of the honorees were best friends. Their banners are side by side, and their daughters were on hand to see them.

Hampton Bays resident Ann LaWall, the former executive director of the Southampton Business Alliance, sponsored a banner for her brother Paul D’Ambrosio, a Vietnam veteran. “I’m already crying,” she said as people began to arrive at the park. “This is the welcome home they never got.”