Chuck Vinciulla, of Amityville, honored for helping those who served

To those who know him, Charles “Chuck” Vinciulla has always been a hero.

Vinciulla, who saw combat as a Navy Corpsman attached to the U.S. Marines during the Vietnam War in 1969 and 1970, is committed to helping his fellow veterans. As commander of the Amityville Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7223, his colleagues say he has brought in newer, younger members; assisted families of veterans who have died; and even oversaw the renovation of the post’s building on Broadway.

For his military service, he possesses an impressive array of badges, ribbons and pins, including a Combat Action Ribbon and a Service Warfare pin that he proudly displays with the others on the dress uniform he dons for important functions. Vinciulla, 75, served for 38 years, including stints in the Navy reserves. “I had more time than most to accumulate awards,” he said with a laugh.

But on June 13, he was recognized for his many years of leadership and dedication as a civilian when he was honored with several others at the Rotary Club of Amityville’s annual Gift of Life Gala, where he received a Local Heroes Award at The Piermont in Babylon.

“We are all amazed at his efforts on a daily basis,” said Jamie Marcos, 62, a former Marine who is now an administrative law judge for the Babylon Adjudication Bureau. “The man is on a nonstop mission to make this world a better place — and he’s succeeding daily at a point in his life where you might think he would take a step back and relax a little bit. His focus, approach and work ethic never cease to amaze me. Chuck knows how to get things done.”

The word “humble” comes up a lot when others speak of Vinciulla’s attributes, and it’s readily apparent when he’s asked to talk about his current community involvement or military past. Like many of his generation who saw active duty overseas, he believes actions generally speak louder than words.

“I’m not one to talk too much about myself,” said Vinciulla, when asked to list his accomplishments and comment on the award. “I support the Rotary and all that they do for this community.”

PERSONAL TOUCH

Pressed harder, Vinciulla acknowledged having a busy daily schedule. “At the award ceremony, speakers said I do a lot for the community,” he said. “I guess that’s true. I’m very involved with the VFW, of course, and I take veterans to nursing homes and veterans’ housing to visit each other.”

Twice a week, Vinciulla drives a 90-year-old woman to see her husband, who is 92, at the nursing home where he lives. He also regularly attends events at the local Kiwanis Club and runs an annual veterans’ golf fundraiser at Bergen Point Golf Course in West Babylon. And two to three times a week, he said he stops by the Massapequa Center Rehabilitation & Nursing facility in Amityville to chat with veterans of the Korean War.

These are the activities Vinciulla will admit to, but his friends and fellow veterans say he does much more for the community.

“I’ll tell you one thing he’s done that’s really impressed me — he’s fixed up our VFW hall,” said Marcos. “It was falling apart, and now it looks almost new under his leadership.”

Vinciulla has been a successful fundraiser for the organization and has attracted new members to the group — not an easy feat, said Marcos.

“Most VFWs are run by older generations, and they are all passing on,” he said. “The veterans coming back from Iraq and Iran seem to have other interests at this stage of their lives, so running a VFW is not high on their priority list. Chuck has not only kept the lights on, he is also attracting some younger members and teaching them how to run a nonprofit.

“I’ve been on boards and represented nonprofits, and I can tell you, it’s a difficult job to do for free,” he added. “You have to be sharp, excel at negotiating, take care of insurance programs, meet fundraising goals and stay on top of maintenance.”

In addition to reaching out to younger generations, Vinciulla maintains close ties with Long Island’s more senior veterans.

“If he hears a veteran is ill, he makes a personal call. If he finds out someone passed away, he contacts the family with condolences and follows up with burial information,” Marcos said. “All that by itself could be a full-time business. Chuck gets it done while still working a full week at his own cigar shop,” the Little Cigar Factory in Massapequa.

Much of what Vinciulla does on a regular basis might seem like “small stuff,” but it has a big impact, said his friend Chris Re, 67, of Massapequa, a partner in an insurance agency.

“Chuck knows how to lead and get people involved in volunteer efforts — and we all love to follow him,” Re added. “Much of that has to do with his demeanor — the trust and the respect he’s earned over the years. His ‘yes’ means yes, his ‘no’ means no, and he’s a handshake guy who looks you right in the eyes . . . If I were in trouble, I’d call him first because I know he’d be right there by my side.”

Vinciulla said he had been prepared to give a speech at the ceremony earlier this month but was told that so many people had asked to speak about him that they had to change the program. “I was very proud and humbled by that, and I appreciate everyone’s support,” he said.

VIETNAM DUTY

Vinciulla, whose father served in the Navy during World War II, grew up in veterans’ housing in Waltham, Massachusetts. When he was 15, he said his family moved to the Massachusetts suburbs.

He joined the Navy when he was 18 and was a corpsman, a medical specialist role. He said he served two tours of duty in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970, seeing combat in such places as Dong Ha, Quang Tri and the “Rockpile” — an isolated but strategic rock outcropping used as an observation post by the U.S. military during the war.

“I had to treat Marines with serious injuries on both tours,” Vinciulla said. “We were out in the jungles, in the bush, and there were no real doctors out there. My job was to keep the wounded alive, stabilize them and get them medevaced to a battalion aid station ASAP.”

When he returned home, Vinciulla said he joined the reserves and became a police officer, working first for the Oak Bluffs Police Department on Martha’s Vineyard and then for the Sudbury Police Department, also in Massachusetts.

In 1983, he had himself reactivated into the Navy and served another 24 years before retiring as a Master Chief, the highest rank in the Navy for enlisted personnel. For his final two years, he said he was mostly involved in counterterrorism and worked with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Vinciulla, who has three adult sons, moved to Virginia in 1984. In 2008, he said he moved to Long Island but continued to travel to Virginia to visit family and attend meetings of the Fraternal Order of Police, Federal Lodge 46. He was one of the lodge’s longest reigning presidents, until he was bestowed the title “President Emeritus” in 2023 and passed the baton to a younger protégé.

Vinciulla has had his share of struggles, but they have only strengthened his resolve to help others.

“With military life — or any life — there are ups and downs,” he said. His wife, Diane, died of colon cancer in 1994. After her death, he said he met Elizabeth Verner, a Long Island woman who had also lost her spouse to cancer. With much in common, he eventually moved to Amityville to be with her.

“It just goes to show that good things can come of even the most trying situations if you keep a positive attitude and keep working hard to improve your situation and the lives of those around you,” Vinciulla said.

RETURNING FROM THE WAR

In that respect, the Local Heroes Award may have helped Vinciulla come full circle. On his way back from Vietnam, he said he flew to Laos, Hawaii and California, where he was debriefed over the course of five days on what he could talk about with regard to his military service and what to avoid discussing. He then flew to Chicago and on to Boston, where his family lived. He said he took a taxi home and was greeted by his little sister, mother and father.

Throughout the trip home, he recalled, not one person mentioned his being in uniform or offered thanks for his service. There was no marching band, no flag waving. “It was a very humbling experience — but I understood the tensions of the times,” he said.

Earlier this month, when the rotary honored him, he said, “It was wonderful to know the efforts I’ve made for the past few years really meant something. In a way, it kind of made up for a lot of things.

“I hope every veteran gets to experience that warmth and appreciation at some point in their life,” Vinciulla said. “It makes a difference because it shows the community is paying attention to those who are trying to do good things. I’m very honored and proud to receive this award, but if I’m a hero, it’s only because I’ve walked amongst other heroes every single day.”