Sgt. Robert Hendriks' name added to Locust Valley monument

With July Fourth hot dogs still to be eaten and poolside coolers yet unsipped, residents of Locust Valley first paused at a war memorial in the middle of town Thursday morning to honor a young patriot, who died far from home in April while serving in Afghanistan.

The name of Sgt. Robert Hendriks, who grew up in that North Shore hamlet before joining the U.S. Marines, had been added to a granite slab that lists the names of some two dozen Locust Valley residents who died in America’s wars.

The Locust Valley post of the American Legion hosted the gathering in hot, humid weather. About 100 people — including knobby-kneed Cub Scouts, thick-armed members of the Patriot Guard motorcycle club and at least one World War II veteran in his 90s — listened as a bagpiper blew a mournful hymn, then watched as a green veil was pulled aside, revealing Hendriks' name etched in bronze.

There were no fireworks, though the sound of a military gun salute split the air.

“This loss of Robby doesn’t go away,” said the post’s commander, Doug Gamble. “It has been traumatic.”

Hendriks, 25, died April 7 when a car bearing explosives detonated as his patrol drove along a road near Bagram Airfield north of Kabul, the U.S. military’s main base in Afghanistan.

Several relatives of Hendriks took part in the 15-minute unveiling ceremony. They included his mother, Felicia Arculeo, of Freeport, and his grandfather, Joseph Biondo, 94, who served as a Navy Seabee in the Pacific during World War II.

Three Marines who were stationed in Afghanistan with Hendriks’ Garden City-based unit, — the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines reserve infantry — came in dress khakis. Hendriks’ younger brother Joseph, another member of the Battalion, is serving in Afghanistan.

“This is home for us, with Rob and his family,” said Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Banfo, of Bay Shore, who had been riding in the same armored military truck when Hendriks was killed. “Rob was family, so it’s only appropriate to spend this day with his family.”

As the crowd thinned, Craig Flynn, of Levittown, who had known Arculeo since childhood, paused to brush his hand across the plaque bearing Hendriks’ name.

“I’m going home to cut the grass and relax,” Flynn said of his Fourth of July plans. “But I wanted to take time to be with them first, and to honor a young man who gave his service.”