Patchogue residents honor Vietnam vet

Lance Cpl. Richard Kaler's heroism in the Vietnam War earned the Patchogue resident a Navy citation lauding his "valiant fighting spirit," but until recently his valor was largely lost to history.

Forty-five years after Kaler was killed on the battlefield near Cam Lo, Vietnam, at age 22, a fellow Patchogue resident he never met is working to give the Marine gunner his due.

Tony Schiozzi, himself a Vietnam-era Army veteran, learned of Kaler's death while researching awards and citations given to local veterans. Schiozzi visited Kaler's grave in Patchogue's Cedar Grove Cemetery and was struck when he saw Kaler's headstone noted the Marine's Purple Heart Medal but not his Navy Cross -- the highest decoration bestowed by the Navy.

Schiozzi set out on a mission to get a new headstone and to see what else could be done to honor Kaler.

"His headstone fell through the cracks," Schiozzi said. "The deeds and the honors need to be recognized and passed down."

Schiozzi's campaign has paid off in multiple ways.

The federal Department of Veterans Affairs has ordered a new headstone that will note Kaler's Navy Cross, said Staff Sgt. John Gallagher, a Patchogue Marine recruiter who worked with Schiozzi to honor Kaler. The headstone is expected to arrive any day, Gallagher said.

An effort also is afoot to present Kaler's family with his Navy Cross, which was awarded after his death but never issued to them, said a spokesman for state Sen. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley). Zeldin and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) are working with the Veterans Affairs Department to make that happen, the spokesman said.

The state Division of Military and Naval Affairs also confirmed this week it will award Kaler the Conspicuous Service Cross and Conspicuous Service Star, awards the state bestows on decorated servicemen, Assemb. Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue) said. And Patchogue village officials are considering dedicating a public space to Kaler in the near future, said Mayor Paul Pontieri, who knew Kaler as a boy. "He was the classic gentle giant," Pontieri said. "We'll do something in the community to represent him."

Kaler's Navy Cross citation states that he fought in Operation Hastings, a military operation near the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone in 1966.

The citation states that Kaler subjected himself to intense fire and charged enemy positions when machine guns had pinned the rest of his platoon. Kaler was shot in the thigh, continued fighting, and was then shot and mortally wounded, the citation states.

Kaler's Newsday obituary states that he had recently written family members that he had only 41 days of duty remaining in Vietnam. Killed four years after graduating Patchogue High School, he never married or fathered children.

A nephew, Robert Kaler of Bayport, said the family is honored by Schiozzi's efforts.

"Finally getting the moment in the sun, even if it is posthumously, it's a wonderful thing," Robert Kaler said.