Islip to beautify Vietnam War veterans memorial as part of downtown revitalization project

Roby Johnson, 76, of Islip served in the Vietnam War from Christmas Day 1966 through Pearl Harbor Day in 1967. 

The past commander of the Suffolk County American Legion said war memorials like the one near Islip Town Hall are needed to remind people of the “guys who served in Vietnam, and the gals.”

“None of our wars should ever be forgotten. People have to know what's going on and what went on. Treat your veterans, your soldiers, your sailors, airmen, whatever, Marines — I can't leave them out — treat them with respect, because they've earned it,” Johnson said.

He reflected on his experience as a veteran while standing near the Islip monument shortly after town officials announced, just days before Veterans Day, that they plan to beautify the remembrance garden in front of Islip Town Hall West. 

The project is part of a larger initiative to bolster infrastructure for the revitalization of the Islip downtown, thanks to $99,400 from the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Round XXI grant program that the town will match. Town officials said a breakdown of costs for specific aspects of the initiative, including the memorial beautification, aren’t yet available.

The memorial will be redesigned to “include landscaping, flags and medallions,” along with “stamped concrete, ADA-compliant ramps and decorative lights,” Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter said at a news conference on Monday.

She thanked veterans in attendance for their service and said many have continued to serve their community through volunteer efforts.

Joanne Johnson, 73, of Islip, president of the Suffolk County American Legion Auxiliary, said the Islip Vietnam veterans memorial was the “brainchild of Charles Pulaski,” a member of Rusy-Bohm Post 411. 

He proposed the Vietnam Remembrance Garden in 1975 and worked with the American Legion post and auxiliary to raise funds through initiatives such as a cocktail party, a flea market and a booth at the Suffolk County Fair, according to Johnson.

The garden was dedicated on May 24, 1976. Pulaski died "only four years later,” Johnson said. She added that, according to Pulaski’s wife, Mary, he had written to every state governor to ask for dirt from their state to put in the garden — a request that was fulfilled.

The U.S. military recorded 58,220 casualties during the Vietnam War, which was unpopular among American civilians, and estimates that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died. In 1995, Vietnam estimated that as many as 2 million civilians on both sides and 1.1 million soldiers fighting for North Vietnam died. 

About 560 Long Islanders were killed in action in Vietnam, Newsday has previously reported. 

Joanne Johnson said she’s pleased about the town initiative to beautify the memorial. She has a personal connection to the Vietnam War through her husband, Roby Johnson.

“This really touches me because I am a Vietnam combat veteran. So it's something that I can't see ever going away. It should never go away. It has to be done continually and repeatedly,” Roby said of the initiative.

When he came home from Vietnam, returning soldiers at the time “were treated with the utmost disrespect,” he said.

Johnson recalled standing on the tracks at Penn Station in full dress uniform as he looked to board a train home, when someone approached him screaming insults. 

“I can take that. That doesn't bother me. But then he spit in my face,” he said.

“We served our country. That's what we were supposed to do … We should never, ever mistreat our veterans. I don't care what war you were in. They should always be treated with respect. And in the '60s, when I came home, that wasn't the case.”

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.