In its mission to take history out of the textbooks by honoring local veterans, the Hampton Bays School District paid tribute to Bob DiChiara during a ceremony on March 20. DiChiara is the 84th veteran to be honored by the district since 2011.
As part of the ceremony, held at Hampton Bays Elementary School, middle school National Junior Honor Society Executive Board members Maya Ollennu, Noelany Rea and Mia Soledad read DiChiara’s biography, and members of the drama club sang a piece from the musical “Annie Jr.” that they will be performing. In addition, Lily Schultheis read an essay she penned as part of the Patriot’s Pen essay contest titled, “My Voice in America’s Democracy.” The ceremony also featured a special performance by Comhaltas Ballinspittle, who were visiting from Ireland for the annual Hampton Bays St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Following the ceremony, an American flag was raised in DiChiara’s honor.
Born in Brooklyn, DiChiara attended high school at Brooklyn Tech. Following graduation, he was hired by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as an electrical apprentice and worked his way up to journeyman electrician. The Vietnam War was raging at the time, and DiChiara was soon drafted into the army. He put his future on hold with the agreement that when he returned from the army, he would return to the Port Authority. He completed basic training at Fort Gordon, Georgia and was assigned as an electrician MOS (military occupational specialty).
DiChiara was assigned to the buildup of the 25th Infantry Division to prepare for a full division movement to Vietnam and was responsible for the massive and complex movement of a division halfway around the world into an active war zone. Part of that assignment involved training in the Mojave Desert.
In August 1966, he advanced to set up operations in Cu Chi, Vietnam while the rest of the division arrived by boat. With the arrival of the division, DiChiara found himself in the shooting war with assignments for patrols and convoy duty. Eventually, he was assigned as an electrician with the 12th Evacuation Hospital in Cu Chi, where he was instrumental in the buildup of the hospital to support the 25th Division. His skills in logistics management ensured the hospital was supplied and fully active. As part of this activity, he also supported additional medical units in Tay Ninh and Dau Tieng.
His service included operations with the 25th Infantry Division in one of the largest military operations in the Vietnam War. He spent three months in the field with virtually nonstop enemy contact in Operation Junction City and Cedar Falls. The focal point was to destroy the Viet Cong headquarters infrastructure and chase the North Vietnamese Army back into Cambodia.
In August 1967, he returned home and, true to his word, went back to the Port Authority to pursue his career. Using the GI Bill, he completed his education at night, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree from Adelphi University and completing an intensive executive development program at Northeastern University. He also studied electrical engineering at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
DiChiara was active in supporting Vietnam veterans in finding jobs and eventually became chairman of the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Plaza in New York. In addition to his Vietnam medals, in 1993 he was awarded the Robert F. Wagner Distinguished Service Medal, which was a special recognition for his work in the recovery of the World Trade Center. He is an active member of the American Legion Post 924, Vietnam Veterans of America Post 126 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5350.
DiChiara and his wife, Emily, of 33 years have three children and five grandchildren.
To read his full bio, visit: https://www.hbschools.us/district/flag_ceremony.
Photo caption: The Hampton Bays School District honored local veteran Bob DiChiara during a ceremony on March 20.
Photo courtesy of the Hampton Bays School District
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