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Authors Posts by Rich Acritelli

Rich Acritelli

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Photograph of an American tank during the Battle of the Bulge, above. File photo from Getty Images

“The same day I saw my first horror camp. It was near the town of Gotha [in Germany]. I have never felt able to describe my emotional reactions when I first came face to face with indisputable evidence of Nazi brutality and ruthless disregard of every shred of decency. Up to that time I had known about it only generally or through secondary sources. I am certain, however, that I have never at any other time experienced an equal sense of shock.” — Supreme Allied Cmdr. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

At that moment almost 78 years ago, Hitler’s Third Reich was rapidly crumbling away.

This was in large part due to the massive strength of Eisenhower’s armies, which were determined to finish the war in Europe. With the end in sight, Allied soldiers entered German soil with the hope of receiving a speedy surrender. During this advance, American soldiers quickly noticed that the enemy had some notable similarities to their own countrymen. 

The German population was similar in size to the American middle class, and lived in heated homes surrounded by picturesque natural beauty from the German and Austrian landscapes. As Allied forces continued their eastward push, however, any feelings of closeness with the enemy quickly evaporated, as they had come to learn of Hitler’s “final solution.” American soldiers, many from neighborhoods along Long Island’s North Shore, had discovered and liberated the German death camps. 

For the men who witnessed this shocking brutality, these experiences would never be forgotten. Although hardened by the Battle of the Bulge and other combats against a fanatical resistance unwilling to surrender its losing cause, Americans were utterly unprepared for the scenes at these camps. Some had heard of the cruel treatment inflicted by the Nazis, but they were horrified after entering these camps. At once, the medics distributed food, water and medical treatment to save as many lives as they could. 

After visiting the Ohrdruf concentration camp on April 12, 1945, a sickened Eisenhower said, “We are told the American soldier does not know what he is fighting for. Now, at least, we know what he is fighting against.” Renowned journalist and radio broadcaster Edward R. Murrow accompanied the American 6th Armored Division into the Buchenwald concentration camp. Laying witness to the atrocities, he reported, “I pray you to believe what I have said about Buchenwald. I have reported what I saw, but only part of it. For most of it I have no words. … If I’ve offended you by this rather mild account of Buchenwald, I’m not in the least sorry. I was there.”  

“The inmates liberated by our forces were skeletons. … It was enough to make strong men weep — and some American officers did so unabashedly.”

— Robert Murphy

Diplomat Robert Murphy was also present to see the conditions of these camps. He recalled: “The inmates liberated by our forces were skeletons. … It was enough to make strong men weep — and some American officers did so unabashedly.” Many American soldiers were ordered to see these camps for themselves, as Eisenhower wished to prevent any future deniers of the Holocaust.

Two local heroes

Among these soldiers was the late John D’Aquila, resident of Belle Terre. A member of the 11th Armored Division, he served under Gen. George S. Patton’s famed Third Army. D’Aquila was a native of Middletown, Connecticut, who landed in France during the Battle of the Bulge. As a medic, he was ordered toward the strategic Belgian town of Bastogne which was surrounded by German forces. During one of the worst winters in recorded history, D’Aquila treated wounded soldiers as they turned back this German offensive. For his valiance and unceasing treatment of wounded servicemen, D’Aquila received a Purple Heart after being wounded during this battle.

Like many other soldiers at the end of this war, D’Aquila wondered if he would survive. On May 5, 1945, the 11th Armored Division entered the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. By the end of the war, those camps in Central Europe had considerably higher death rates as they were the last to be captured by Allied forces. D’Aquila remembered the inability of the local Austrian citizens to accept responsibility for the savagery committed there, despite the stench of death that hung in the air, the piles of bodies stacked up “like cordwood.”  

After the war, D’Aquila attended college and later earned a degree in law, where he defended the interests of insurance companies. Locally in Port Jefferson, he was on the board of directors of Theatre Three, and a play was later created by Jeffrey Sanzel, “From the Fires: Voices of the Holocaust.” Until his death, D’Aquila openly addressed his wartime experiences because he wanted to ensure that citizens, especially the youth, did not forget the severity of the Holocaust.

In 2008, D’Aquila described his experience of liberating Mauthausen during a Veterans Day program at Rocky Point High School. As though it had just occurred, D’Aquila spoke of his duty to medically care for the survivors of the concentration camp as they were finally being liberated. At another program at the high school, D’Aquila joined Werner Reich, who had survived Theresienstadt, Auschwitz and Mauthausen, and was liberated by the 11th Armored Division.  

Reich was a 17-year-old young man who weighed only 64 pounds at the time of his liberation. In this condition, he was not expected to survive. At RPHS, he looked at the audience and vividly stated that if it had not been for Americans like D’Aquila, then he would have surely perished from starvation. Although from different backgrounds, both men were inextricably tied to one another through their shared experience of “man’s inhumanity to man.” For years, Reich has spoken to high schools across the North Shore to ensure that good people do not stand by when innocent people suffer from such atrocities. 

Even though World War II ended long ago, the world now watches history repeat itself through the images of fighting in the Ukraine. Americans are again learning of the massive losses of Ukrainian civilians suspected of being killed by Russian forces. People such as D’Aquila and Reich made it their mission in life to alert people that history will repeat itself if good people do nothing. We must learn from the examples of the past, we must always act, protect and preserve the rights and freedoms of people everywhere.  

Rich Acritelli is a history teacher at Rocky Point High School and adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College.

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Alexandra Kelly

By Rich Acritelli

In praise of Old Nassau we sing,

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

Our hearts will give, while we shall live,

Three cheers for Old Nassau.

These hallowed words represent the proud alma mater of Princeton University, which has gained the academic and athletic talents of current Rocky Point student Alexandra Kelly and 2016 graduate Kyle Strovink. Both individuals will no doubt shine bright at the prestigious university. 

Graduating this year, Kelly is a humble, soft-spoken lady and dynamic soccer forward who helped the Eagles to a distinguished season. This all-county athlete was seen hustling up and down the field for her team, which scored many goals. 

Kyle Strovink

Once soccer ended, Kelly concentrated on her winter track season, where she’s been one of the leading triple jumpers and long jumpers on Long Island and in New York state. She placed fifth as a 10th grader in the state, but was unable to compete during her junior year due to COVID-19.

On March 5, this determined competitor took first place in the triple jump with a leap of 39-06.00 at the 2022 NYSPHSAA Indoor Track and Field Championships held at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex, Staten Island. She continued to do well at the New Balance Nationals, where she placed fifth at this New York City Armory event. 

Though recruited by Dartmouth, the U.S. Naval Academy and Stanford University, Kelly chose to attend Princeton this coming fall. 

Strovink is now in uniform as volunteer assistant baseball coach at Princeton, working with catchers and hitters. A graduate of Limestone University in South Carolina, this All-American high school baseball player and college standout now has the experience of working with ex-New York Yankee Scott Bradley. The former Major League ballplayer has been instrumental in mentoring the Rocky Point native who has coached his team in games against strong southern colleges.  

Strovink comes from a prominent North Shore athletic family. Older brother Brennan was an excellent athlete who now teaches physical education and is coaching baseball and wrestling at Patchogue-Medford High School. Father Eric was a baseball phenom at Shoreham-Wading River High School. This feared hitter played at Louisiana State University, C.W. Post and briefly for the Texas Rangers.  

Like his family, Kyle is interested in coaching baseball at the college level and making it his career. He has been connecting well with Ivy League ballplayers who have seen little time on the field over the last two years due to the pandemic. And while his team has a losing record this season, 2-13, the Tigers recently won a doubleheader against Towson, scoring 39 runs.

Strovink is looking forward to opening his team’s conference play against rivals such as Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale. 

The sky is the limit for these former Rocky Point Eagles who are now proud Princeton Tigers.

Author Rich Acritelli is a history teacher at Rocky Point High School and adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College.

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Rocky Point High School students helped create this mural of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Photo from Seth Meier

“The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself — the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us — that’s where it’s at.” — Jesse Owens

After years of training and dedication, American athletes have been competing on the world stage in Beijing, China, through the Winter Olympics in front of a communist regime that is openly competing with the United States — not only in athletics, but for social, economic, political and military prowess — to be the top superpower. 

Eighty-six years ago, during the beginning of German aggression in Europe, Jesse Owens, an African American track-and-field standout athlete competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In front of fascist powers that were bent on expanding their national power, this Alabama native was a highly regarded runner for the United States. In front of Adolf Hitler, Owen received cheers and along the way he shattered the myth of the Aryan race and the racial superiority of the Nazi regime.

Known as the Buckeye Bullet from his competitive days running at Ohio State, Owens won four gold medals and gained the respect of the global community that was on the brink of World War II. During the games, a fatigued Owens was told with Ralph Metcalfe to replace Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller in the 400-meter relay race.  

At first, Owens was reluctant to run, he was tired, and believed that these men had the ability to win this race for America. While he continued to succeed at these games, he believed in the ability of these runners that had faced anti-Semitism at home and during these games. The American track-and-field athletes won 11 gold medals, six of them were earned by African American athletes.  

Owens confidently represented the character and pride of the United States in front of the Germans, whose government sponsored racism and hatred toward minority groups. But when he arrived home, through the long-standing policy of segregation he was unable to gain the same rights as white citizens until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were passed. 

Rosa Parks

Another native of Alabama that changed the scope of civil rights was Rosa Parks. While she was traveling home by bus in 1955 from her job at the Montgomery Fair Department Store, several Black people were told to leave their seats to make enough room for white riders. Parks refused to stand with the other Blacks, where she defiantly remained seated to oppose the unfairness of segregation. Like other Black citizens who lived in Alabama, she observed the fire department use of hoses to push back civil rights demonstrators, the police using German Shepherd dogs to assault crowds of protesters, and the use of force to physically carry away Blacks who were engaged in sit-ins that were waged at segregated areas such as restaurants, park benches and local businesses.  

By refusing to leave her seat, Parks broke the Jim Crow segregationist laws, was photographed as she was arrested, fingerprinted and sent to jail. Her name has become synonymous for people of all backgrounds to oppose widespread civil rights abuses that have been seen within the United States. 

In 2012, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, President Barack Obama (D) sat in the original bus seat and reflected on the strength of this little woman who was a giant toward the cause of civil rights.

Thurgood Marshall

In 1908, Thurgood Marshall was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to a mother who was a teacher and a father who was a railroad porter. At an early age, his father took him to local courtrooms to observe the legal procedures for the defense and the prosecution of local cases.    

As he grew older, Marshall was concerned about the high death rate of African Americans within the streets of Baltimore and how Blacks were defended in the court of law. He was an outstanding student in high school and attended the African American equivalent to Princeton University at Lincoln University near Oxford, Pennsylvania. 

While he was a brilliant student, Marshall enjoyed his social life and saw some trouble through a hazing incident within his fraternity. He realized the necessity of being more dedicated to his studies, as he joined the debate club and began to see law as his future calling. 

During his college years Marshall lived through the tribulations of segregation, where he helped desegregate a local movie theater. Once he graduated, he began his pursuit of attending law school, but he was denied his first choice of University of Maryland Law School.  

Through the unjust racial policies of this prominent school, he was refused admission to attain this degree, since he was Black. As a married student, Marshall graduated as a valedictorian at Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., and later turned down the chance of attending Harvard University to begin his own law office in East Baltimore. 

This emerging legal icon was interested in gaining positive changes to the civil rights laws that prevented the growth of rights for African Americans. Marshall was known for his devotion to fight against police brutality, unfair practices of landlords, and he also supported labor organizations and businesses. 

Always with an eye toward helping others, he had two key cases that saw him fight for the rights of Blacks against segregation. First, he opposed the unfair “separate but equal” parts of the GI Bill that limited the rights African American veterans that served within every component of the Armed Forces at home and overseas during World War II. 

In 1952, he fought against the government to overturn the segregationist policies that were established within the American educational system. 

After excelling within many government legal positions, in 1967 President Lyndon Johnson (D) nominated Marshall to become the first African American associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. He was a legal pioneer who always looked forward to change, through the positive beliefs that all Americans were able to get ahead in the United States, where they should receive all of the rights of the constitution.

Aretha Franklin

All I’m askin’ is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit)

The legendary lyrics of “Respect” were sung by trailblazer Aretha Franklin in 1967. Born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, her father the Rev. C.L. Franklin was a famous Baptist minister and her mom Barbara was a gospel singer.  

By the time Aretha was 14 years old, she had already recorded her first gospel single, in Detroit. In 1960, she was scouted for Columbia Records by New York’s John Hammond, who also signed Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen to professional contracts. But it would take a few years before Franklin hit fame in the late 1960s through her association with Atlantic Records and its music savvy heads, Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler.  

This was the beginning of her pursuit to consistently earn top 10 hits and gold records. Along the way, as the Queen of Soul, she sold millions of records such as with “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)” and “Respect,” a No. 1 hit. Her music was adored by people of all races, as her records made it through the tumultuous moments of the 1960s. Franklin’s success was felt during this trying decade that saw major Vietnam anti-war and civil rights protests. After the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, ironically in her birthplace of Memphis, Franklin sang at his service in honor of this noted leader.  

Many fans noticed the soulful feeling of sincerity when listening to the words of Franklin that always struck a chord with people that enjoyed music. Into the early 1970s, she gained big hits with “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Spanish Harlem” but at this moment soul music tastes began to change with disco and hip-hop. 

Her popularity never wavered on the national level as she performed at the inaugurations of Presidents Bill Clinton (D) and Obama, and she was given the Presidential Medal of Honor by George W. Bush (R) in 2005.  

The musical grace and strength of Franklin was also recognized in 1987 when she was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1994, she was honored at the Kennedy Center and was given the National Medal of Arts in 1999. 

Franklin represents the countless examples of African American accomplishments that added to the national character and pride of the United States during all periods of time.

Rich Acritelli is a history teacher at Rocky Point High School and adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College.

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Rob Sproston in his Marine uniform. Photo from Rob Sproston

“If you’re willing to put yourself and your dreams on the line, at the very least you’ll discover an inner strength you may have not known existed.” — Kurt Warner, Super Bowl quarterback and Hall of Famer

These words from this noted athlete who lived through a life of adversity, also identify the strength, character, humanity and resiliency of Baiting Hollow resident Robert “Rob” Sproston. 

On March 31, 2020, Riverhead police officer Sproston was responding to a domestic incident of a young woman who was assaulted by her boyfriend with a knife. Her car was then stolen by the man.  

On his way to the Baiting Hollow Country Club, Sproston was picking up lunch for the officers working on Main Street within the heart of Riverhead. As he was heading north on Osborn Avenue, not too far from Youngs Avenue, he heard the call of this developing incident, where the stolen car was heading westward toward his direction.

As the officer was trying to figure out the situation from the information that was being reported on his radio and preparing to be in pursuit of the subject, his life would forever be changed. Driving at a high speed with his sirens blasting and lights flashing, Sproston was trying to do his job in handling this delicate situation.  

Rocky Point High School graduates, Matt Staker, Rob Sproston and Anthony Montalbano. Photo from Rob Sproston

As he headed up Osborn Avenue, another driver made a left onto Youngs Avenue, and he tried to move his police vehicle around the car.  

Making the left, the driver drove directly into Sproston’s car, and the officer crashed into a chain-link fence. A pole shot through his windshield, hitting him through his face. Horribly injured in his car, the officer was near death before the first responders made it to the scene. 

The life that Sproston led before the crash helped him prepare for this life-altering moment. As a young man, this “all-American kid” was always armed with a big smile and a can-do attitude. He was an active member of the Rocky Point Fire Department, played several years of varsity lacrosse on the Rocky Point High School team, and is a proud alumnus of the Class of 2010.  

During his youthful years, Sproston enjoyed riding his quad with his friends within the powerlines behind the McDonald’s in Rocky Point. And he understood the practice of hard work through the intricacies of installing residential roofs with his father Billy.

In 2014, Rob Sproston began his career path by entering the Suffolk County Police Academy at the Grant Campus of Suffolk Community College in Brentwood. After graduation, he was hired as a part-time police officer for the Town of Riverhead.  

Right away, he learned about the makeup of the community and believed that it was a good experience toward his professional growth within the field of law enforcement. While Sproston was not yet a full-time officer, he was thankful to gain this experience to work with the police, and to learn about the various challenges of this difficult job.

In 2016, with the prospect of being a full-time officer, he always wanted to serve this country and entered the United States Marine Corps.  

As a 22-year-old, he was an older recruit who understood the importance of getting through the difficulties of military training for each day. Always a positive figure, he worked well with the other recruits to make it through their daily routines at Parris Island, South Carolina. 

Sproston always believed that if you did not “embrace the suck,” that it would be difficult to make it through the hardships of training and the discipline of the Marines.  

After he completed this training, Sproston was sent to Camp Geiger, North Carolina, where he learned how to become proficient within infantry training, weapons and tactics. Currently, he is with the Marine Corps Forces Reserve in Garden City, where he serves in an infantry sniper platoon, spends time in the field and enjoys the camaraderie of being in the military.  

While he is proud of his time in the Marines, Sproston is glad to be serving closer to home, to be near his job, friends and family.

Before joining the service, he took the police exam to gain a permanent full-time position within a Suffolk County law enforcement department. He was eventually placed on a lottery and picked by the Riverhead Police Department in 2017.  

Always willing to serve his nation and community, he was extremely pleased to be in uniform through the police and military. As a regular officer, Sproston patrolled the busy traffic and commercial areas of Route 58. This assignment offered him the chance to gain important knowledge of the local citizens, and the types of crimes that are common within this part of Riverhead.  

And so on the day of the crash in March 2020, this police officer was near death, and right away the local fire department was dispatched to respond and provide aid. Service runs deep through the Sproston family, as his father Billy was one of the local fire and emergency support that arrived on this call.  

At this point, his father did not know that his son was the officer in the wrecked vehicle as he approached this scene. Senior fire officials tried to keep his father away as they prepared to move him to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead.  

Rob Sproston’s face was practically ripped apart from the crash and he lost two pints of blood. He was stabilized at Peconic Bay and was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he received major surgery and treatment toward the reconstruction of his face. For two weeks, he was in an induced coma. His father was at his side during this entire ordeal.

Rob Sproston in his Marine uniform. Photo from Rob Sproston

Speaking about these harrowing events, the son was completely reserved as he identified this near-death incident and his amazing recovery.  

This young man still has minor nose-and-mouth surgery ahead, but his iron spirit completely demonstrates his unyielding resolve to continue a normal life. 

Always an active citizen to help his community through the police and to defend our nation within the Marine Corps, Sproston has overcome several obstacles to return to duty. His professional and personal goal was achieved on July 1, 2021, when he was cleared by the police department to return to limited duty. He is looking forward to getting back into a sector car to be in the field.  

Outside of the police, Sproston has resumed his life by working out in the gym and being cleared by a Navy doctor to return back to his infantry platoon. He is looking forward to the challenge of attending sniper school and being around his fellow Marines — always flashing a big smile.

Longtime Rocky Point High School social studies teacher and coach, Christopher Nentwich, said it best about Sproston’s positive qualities: “He was an ‘old-school’ student who was loyal, dedicated, hardworking and with a great sense of humor. I recommended Rob to several members of the police department and believed that he would be an outstanding addition to serve and protect the community of Riverhead.”

Rich Acritelli is a history teacher at Rocky Point High School and adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College.

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Photo from Wikimedia Commons

“The present situation is to be regarded as one of opportunity for us and not of disaster. There will only be cheerful faces at this conference table.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme allied commander 

Approaching the middle of December 1944, the allied powers in Europe pushed back the German forces practically to their own border. The allies landed at Normandy in France on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, and this successful invasion established the beginning of the end of Hitler’s rule in Western Europe.  

While the fighting was brutal on the beaches and later through the dangerous terrain of the hedge groves, under the leadership of Eisenhower and the armored drive of Gen. George Patton, the Germans took extremely high losses. 

There was absolute joy on Aug. 19 when allied forces rolled through the streets of Paris, where they were greeted with loud cheers of freedom. 

The once victorious German army was reeling after several battlefield losses, and by December 1944 the allies were about to enter this Axis nation. The others were Italy and Japan.

With the Soviet Union liberating their own territory and pushing into Eastern Europe, there was no respite within any part of the German frontlines, and during the night and day allied air crews strategically bombed German factories, resources, transportation, weapons and troop movements.  

“Total war” brought the realization that the German military had no chance to win this war and that the end was near.  

Eisenhower’s “broad front” campaign moved allied armies from the English Channel to the Swiss border. It was the confident belief among western forces that the German war machine would surrender within the face of defeat.  

Operation Autumn Mist was the last major military offensive that Hitler waged against the allies, to attempt to drive a wedge between the western armies, with the goal of regaining the Belgian port of Antwerp. If the Germans could strike a powerful blow against the allies, Hitler mistakenly believed that the West would possibly agree to a peace, and Germany would turn its full attention to fighting the Soviet Union.  

As the Germans were attacked from every direction, they organized 250,000 soldiers from 14 infantry divisions guarded by five panzer divisions. This surprise assault was a dangerous breakdown of allied intelligence. The Germans broke through the Ardennes Forest in southeast Belgium and hit allied positions that were in Belgium, France and Luxembourg. 

There were only 80,000 allied soldiers who were shocked by this assault, and thousands were taken as prisoners of war. The Germans penetrated their armies against the American forces that still wore summer uniforms and had little ammunition.  

Eisenhower was just promoted to his fifth star as General of the Army, and expected to travel to Versailles, France, to attend the wedding of his orderly Mickey McKeogh. 

It was an attack that struck at the nerve of the broad front that was mostly held by American forces which faced shortages in reinforcements and resources. Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe was demanded by his German counterpart that he surrender the 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne, Belgium. It did not help McAuliffe that the weather conditions were extremely poor, and American airplanes were briefly unable to provide air support and the ability to drop food and ammunition. As Bastogne was considered to be located at strategic crossroads, Eisenhower ordered that this town must be held at all costs by the 101st Airborne Division. 

A famous victory

On Dec. 19, Eisenhower held a vital meeting with his key generals to contain and destroy this attack. His longtime friend Patton stated that he was able to disengage from his own battle, and push in force to assault the German armies to relieve the pressure that was placed on Bastogne.  

Eisenhower counted on the battlefield drive of Patton and sought the general’s Third Army to relieve Bastogne and to make the Germans pay for this surprise attack. Both senior officers were old friends and Eisenhower looked at the irony of receiving the new senior rank and observed, “George, every time I get promoted, I get attacked.” Patton responded to his boss, “Yes, and every time you get attacked, I bail you out.” 

During a time of brief defeat, this battle showed the true spirit of the American soldier and officer to overcome the burdens of bad weather and surprise of the German assault to achieve a great victory.

The Battle of the Bulge posed the serious problem of German spies who landed behind American lines and were dressed as American military police officers. The enemy changed and destroyed road signs, and were believed to be searching for Eisenhower, Patton and Gen. Omar Bradley. 

American soldiers started using challenging passwords that focused on former World Series games, movie stars and political leaders to determine if an unknown soldier was possibly a spy. The German troops acted with total disregard toward the prisoners of war that had fallen into their hands.  

Near the Belgian town of Malmedy, SS Lt. Col. Joachim Peiper was the head of the “Adolph Hitler” Division and ordered his soldiers to brutally kill 84 Americans within an open field.  

Word quickly spread about these atrocities, and this motivated Americans to hold their ground against the unrelenting pressure of the German army.

At Verdun in northeast France, Eisenhower ordered Patton to take additional time to gain enough men and materials, and to make his first strike against the enemy a powerful one. With his soldiers and through the snow, Patton led the American Army through one of the largest battles ever fought by this nation. Although Patton previously warned about the possibility of an attack of this nature, he was determined to destroy the German army that was now in the open.  

American forces began their pursuit to relieve the beleaguered garrison at Bastogne and to inflict casualties on Hitler’s last-ditch attempt to gain a victory in the west. The German high command envisioned a successful plan that would see their forces reach the French Meuse River, but they did not count on the 500,000 American soldiers that destroyed this plan.

Through a blizzard that created awful weather conditions, there were a reported 15,000 cold weather injuries and ailments that were created pneumonia, frostbite and trench foot. 

New York Yankee Ralph Houk, rose from the rank of private to major during World War II and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. This catcher was decorated with the Purple Heart, Silver Star and Bronze Star for valor in service.  

During this fight, Houk’s leadership prevented a major attack from over 200 enemy soldiers and five Tiger tanks. He was later ordered to take a jeep and a letter with vital intelligence to the beleaguered town of Bastogne. During his way through enemy lines, Houk was wounded in the leg. After this battle, he was almost killed when a German bullet traveled through his helmet. 

Houk was later manager of the Yankees which won the 1961 World Series with Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and D-Day World War II veteran Yogi Berra. Houk’s Yankees won the World Series again in 1962. He always said he was fortunate to survive the Battle of the Bulge. 

The fighting lasted until Jan. 25, 1945, with the heavy cost of 19,000 Americans killed, 47,500 wounded and 23,000 captured or missing in action.  

British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery took credit for rescuing the American military during the height of the Battle of the Bulge. Monty. as he was known, was one of the most difficult leaders that Eisenhower had to manage as supreme commander of allied forces.  

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill fully realized that the United States provided the vast majority of soldiers and weaponry into the war in Northwestern Europe. About this failed German offensive, he said, “This is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever-famous American victory.” 

Rich Acritelli is a history teacher at Rocky Point High School and adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College. Sean Hamilton, president of the high school history honor society, contributed to this article.

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The Rocky Point Boy’s Lacrosse Program collected over 300 bags of clothes, shoes, blankets and other donations to support our local communities. 

Families of players from kindergarten to alumni dropped off donations to spread holiday cheer and to give back to the community that they care about.

Player volunteers who helped during collection included: Colton Feinberg , Kyle Moore, Will Levonick, Jack Fredriksen, Justin Hachmann, Keith Hilts, Nate Aiello, Brogan Casper, Dj Xavier, Brennan Protosow, John-Ryan Torreblanca, John Tringone and Mason Pina.

The project was organized by the Rocky Point Lacrosse Booster Club parents’ group.

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A veteran saluting the Pearl Harbor memorial. Photo from Pixabay

On Dec. 6, 1941, Americans watched the extent of German military actions under Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich, as it conquered much of Europe, North Africa and major parts of the Soviet Union. 

Within the Pacific and Asia, the imperial government of Japan competed against the United States for sole control of this region of the world. While tensions were high, most Americans went about their life, as if it was any other weekend.

Some 80 years ago, the unthinkable occurred against the American army and naval strength that sat idle on a quiet Sunday morning in Hawaii. As the residents and military of this state were still sleeping, Japanese aircraft carriers sat two hundred miles off the coast of these islands and began its unyielding assaults against Pearl Harbor. 

Back in Washington, the American government negotiated with representatives from the Japanese embassy that were delayed, as they were waiting for several parts of a declaration of war to be decoded and delivered to our leadership.  

As a younger man, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was the Japanese leader that planned this assault, traveled extensively across America, where he saw the economic potential of this superpower. He stressed the importance of declaring war as an honorable action before his planes bombed Pearl Harbor and firmly stressed that the only chance that Japan had to win this war was to destroy the American aircraft carriers at this base.   

But the delays in the transmission of a lengthy message from Tokyo prevented the Japanese representatives in Washington D.C. from formerly presenting a declaring war to Secretary of State Cordell Hull who was speaking with these figures at the start of this attack.  

Hull’s meeting was interrupted for him to be told about the deadly swarms of Japanese fighter planes that bombed and strafed American ships, planes and troops that were struggling to survive. Never did the U.S. government and military leaders ever estimate that the Japanese had this capability to push their own carriers some 5,000 miles undetected towards the coast of Hawaii.  

When the smoke cleared, there were over 2,400 members of the armed forces that were killed; 1,000 wounded, 20 ships and 300 planes that were destroyed. This enemy also disabled General Douglas MacArthur’s fighter planes and bombers that sat on the ground in the Philippines.  

Other American territories were targeted in the Pacific, and those military forces were also caught off-guard against this ferocious onslaught that was well planned by the Japanese military.

Before this attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall, firmly believed that it was only a matter of time before this country was pushed into the conflicts in Europe and possibly the Pacific.  

Now America was at war, and it was totally unprepared for the modern warfare that was waged by the Germans and Japanese. During the 1930s, the Japanese military fought a brutal war against the Chinese and expanded into French Indo-China before Pearl Harbor. And for two years, the German forces were a hardened force that “Blitzkrieg” much of Europe through a tenacious war that easily defeated most of the Europeans, except the British and Soviets that barely held onto their own survival.

Immediately after the noted “Day of Infamy” speech of Roosevelt, the process quickly began to put this country on a war time footing. Americans were drafted into every branch of the armed forces, women quickly became known as “Rosie the Riveter” for their industrial positions, and “Victory Gardens” were planted from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. 

Eighty years ago, this week, Americans from all walks of life entered the service to defend the survival of this country.

By 1942, the Department of War established the future American military leaders that ran the war over-seas to gain victory.  General Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of the finest staff officers in the army and he quickly rose from the rank of colonel to lieutenant general. Eisenhower had no combat experience during World War I, but he continually impressed Marshall through his problem-solving ability to handle complicated situations through a commonsense approach. This general was a popular officer, that worked well with others, and he was sent by Marshall to England to discuss the earliest military operations with our British allies. 

A longtime friend to both Marshall and Eisenhower was General George S. Patton. He was a talented, but a controversial figure, that was highly decorated leading the first tanks during World War I. He led the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Benning and later the Indio/Mojave Desert Tank Training Center in California to train our forces to oppose Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Africa Korps in Tunisia.  

Marshall always stated that if he was in a major position of authority, that he would rely on the strength of Patton to push soldiers against a foreign enemy. In the Philippines, MacArthur was ordered out of Corregidor as the Bataan Campaign was defeated by the Japanese. Through the aid of a PT boat, MacArthur, his wife and son, and aides escaped across the Pacific Ocean to set up his new operations in Australia. Now thousands of miles away from Japan, MacArthur scraped together enough forces to begin training for the Guadalcanal invasion that was planned for early August 1942.

Roosevelt was determined to attack the expansionist drive of the Japanese and Germans. While Colonel Jimmy Doolittle in April 1942, led the first bombers to hit the Japanese mainland, this limited assault had done little to hurt the war effort of this enemy. The President demanded that his military leaders successfully wage war against both enemies in the European and Pacific Theaters of Operations. Within an extremely brief period, Marshall and his chief subordinates in Eisenhower and MacArthur quickly planned to halt the progress of the enemies that they would incessantly fight for the next three years.

But the United States still did not have enough trained soldiers, nor did the military have enough combat officers to oppose the strength of these powerful nations.  

From 1942-43, Roosevelt wanted action from his military, but the primary goal was to slow down the advances of the Japanese and the Germans, and land forces against the vulnerable areas of their empires. While both Marshall and Eisenhower sought the invasion of France, as the quickest way to win the war in Europe, England was totally opposed to this idea.  

British leaders that were in their third year of the war, believed that the United States was not yet battle tested, lacked men, materials and knowledge of the Germany army. If an attack failed in France, and if the Allies were pushed back into the English Channel, it would take too long to dislodge Hitler’s forces from Europe. The British stated that the best course of action was to assault the “Soft Under-Belly” of the German forces in the Mediterranean. While Marshall and Eisenhower were opposed to these plans, the British were correct that America was not yet prepared to wage war and that invading North Africa was a more realistic approach for an army that was being drafted into service. 

Eisenhower was named the overall commander of “Operation Torch” the invasion of North Africa.  While he was respected, Eisenhower was a novice in leading such a complicated plan, and his key subordinates were British. There was an early belief that Eisenhower was often swayed by the opinions of the British that had a tremendous amount of influence on this Supreme Commander.  

In the Pacific, the Japanese tried to choke off the American supply lines to Australia and New Zealand by building airfields in Guadalcanal. Few Americans ever heard of this small island that was located within the Solomon Islands. If the Japanese completed these airfields, they would constantly harass the numerous supplies that were needed to help rebuild MacArthur’s forces that expected to carry out the start of its “Island Hopping” campaign.  At this point in 1942, Japan had one of the largest empires ever taken over by a nation during a time of war and conquest.

Never in the history of this country did the United States ever prepare for war against forces that were thousands of miles away, and in an opposite global direction. Americans from places like Miller Place, Mount Sinai, Port Jefferson, Rocky Point and Sound Beach, trained in military bases, to be quickly deployed over-seas to fight the enemy. Always a source of positive feelings, Roosevelt was the architect of one of the most power armed forces that ever-waged war. 

Starting in August 1942, for several months, the United States fought the Japanese at Guadalcanal. The American forces had two difficult enemies, first was the Japanese soldier that was well dug in, that presented a stubborn resistance. Secondly, the American soldier had to battle the jungles of an unfamiliar territory that was ripe with malaria and dangerous creatures and insects. While it took almost five months to defeat the Japanese, they fully understood that the United States Marine Corps that spearhead the landings on South Pacific this island, would not be pushed back, and were only determined to gain victory.

During the early days of November 1942, Eisenhower was stationed at the Rock of Gibraltar, where he waited for the reports of the North African landings. Over 100,000 American and British soldiers landed on the beaches on Morocco, Oran, and Algeria. The problem for the Allies was that the French Vichy that collaborated with Hitler, militarily oversaw their colonial lands. 

While General Mark W. Clark attempted to negotiate an agreement for the French to not oppose these landings, there were no guarantees that resistance would be halted. On the evening of “Operation Torch” when American citizens learned about the start of the war in North Africa, Marshall was at a Washington Redskins football game with his wife, Katherine. The public announcer told the crowd about these landings, and she asked her husband, if this was the reason why he was quiet, due to his worrying about this opening start of the American war effort.  

In less than a year, the United States went from the terror of the disastrous Pearl Harbor losses to quickly utilizing the strength and spirit of our citizens to thwart the strength of these totalitarian powers.  

Although this 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor is at an incredibly divided political time in American history, no friend or foe alike, should ever doubt the resolve of our people to overcome every type of obstacle.  

Thank you to our members of the Greatest Generation, and to the current citizens of the armed forces that continue to make the United States proud of their efforts to protect this country.

Author Rich Acritelli is a social studies teacher at Rocky Point High School and an adjunct professor of American history at Suffolk County Community College. Rocky Point High School students Sean Hamilton, Zachary Gentile, Caroline Settapani, Madelynn Zarzycki and Quentin Palifka helped with this article.

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Rocky Point resident Michael McClure

By Rich Acritelli

[email protected]

On Veterans Day, there are always unique stories that originate from North Shore citizens who fulfilled their military duty to defend this nation. 

Rocky Point resident Michael McClure, a member of the U.S. Army for two decades, had some extremely memorable experiences in the service. 

Rocky Point resident Michael McClure

This mild-mannered resident, who retired from the Army in 1995, was a native of North Massapequa and attended Farmingdale High School. As a young man, he was a three-sport athlete, who enjoyed cross country, track and wrestling. McClure was a talented runner, who was in superb physical shape, and ran many races through the polo fields, hills and trails at Bethpage State Park.  

After graduating from high school in 1971, McClure attended college for one year and eventually traveled to Washington state. West of Seattle, he worked as a logger at Port Angeles, located on a beautiful peninsula surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. This Nassau County boy was about 3,000 miles away from Long Island, where he learned how to drop trees, load them onto trucks and cut these massive pieces of wood into sections.  

Army enlistment

Four years after leaving Farmingdale, McClure enlisted in the Army in April of 1975. He was trained by Vietnam, Korea, World War II and Cold War veterans with combat experience in Southeast Asia. At this point in the mid-1970s, the military was in poor shape after the Americans had pulled out of Vietnam with a diminished amount of funding toward the U.S. Armed Forces. But McClure was a young man who was always in good condition, and he was motivated to do well in the Army.

After he completed his initial training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, he was a combat engineer who was transferred to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where he learned how to move, store and detonate smaller nuclear weapons. Through the Medium Atomic Demolition Munition, also known as MADM, and the Special Atomic Demolition Munition, known as SADM, McClure learned how to use these weapons as obstacles and to slow down any potential Soviet military advances toward American territory and troops. 

An even-keeled individual, McClure easily describes his time as a combat engineer who received enhanced training to handle sensitive weapons and national security knowledge.

By 1986, with over a decade of service and experience under his belt, McClure entered the special operations forces at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. At the height of the Cold War under the aggressive direction and funding of President Ronald Reagan (R) to defeat the Soviet Union, McClure was a sergeant first class and a “Green Beret.” Always in sound physical shape, McClure flourished within the advanced techniques and operations of this highly respected fighting force. He served with the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, where the Green Berets prepared to oppose the Soviet menace. 

For nearly 15 years, McClure was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, with the engineers and later the Special Forces. For many years, McClure spoke fluent German and he enjoyed his time living abroad in this allied country. He was a well-rounded noncommissioned officer who was instructed how to decipher and use intelligence for potential operations with the Green Berets. 

Gulf War 

During the Gulf War in 1991, McClure was not deployed immediately to the Middle East, rather his Green Beret unit was ordered to undertake serious training at Fort Bragg which his leadership refused to cancel. While this was a quick ground war that took only three days to defeat the Iraqi army in Kuwait, McClure was soon deployed to the region. Although Saddam Hussein was seriously crippled by the onslaught of American and coalition forces, the Iraqis held enough weapons to oppose the Shiites in southern Iraq and the Kurdish opposition groups in the northern mountainous areas. 

Operating 10,000 feet above sea level, through Operation Provide Comfort, McClure was sent to help the Kurdish minority group survive the assaults being waged against them by Hussein. From the ground, McClure witnessed the northern no-fly zone that was established to prevent Iraqi aggressive aircraft from attacking the almost powerless Kurds.

McClure understood the Kurds suffered greatly at the hands of the Iraqi dictator, as they were attacked with biological and chemical weapons. The Kurds fought during the Gulf War and desperately wanted their homeland removed from the abusive power of Hussein. McClure saw the abandoned Kurdish towns which had been gassed and the poor regions of this part of Iraq, where people still traveled on dirt roads and goat trails. 

Yugoslavian conflict

After his time in Iraq, McClure was then stationed in eastern Italy, not too far from the civil war that raged between the Serbians, Bosnians and Croatians in the former Yugoslavia. This once-communist nation was torn apart by the fighting and the brutal ethnic cleansing that dictated in the mid-1990s an American military presence to aid the weaker Bosnian forces.  

With aerial missions being flown over the rugged Balkan Mountains, McClure and his Green Beret detachment were ordered to provide support for air rescues for pilots who were shot down or forced to parachute during this war. The 2001 film, “Behind Enemy Lines,” is a military combat film starring Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman that depicts parts of the terrible Yugoslavian conflict. McClure liked this film that had a good amount of action, but he doubted its historical accuracy.

Back in the USA 

After spending many years out of the United States, often on dangerous missions that ranged from handling nuclear weapons to working with the Kurdish rebels, McClure retired as a master sergeant from the Army in 1995.

Back in Rocky Point, McClure in civilian life for many years was a tractor-trailer driver. Currently, he delivers home heating oil for Swezey Fuel in Patchogue. Still an active man, he stays in good shape by competing in the annual Lt. Michael P. Murphy memorial run around Lake Ronkonkoma and Blydenburgh Park. McClure is an avid reader of military history, exercises almost every day and enjoys the chance to visit his family members in Colorado. 

May we never forget and always show appreciation toward veterans such as Michael McClure, who handled hazardous tasks and selflessly defended this proud nation.  

Author Rich Acritelli is a social studies teacher at Rocky Point High School and an adjunct professor of American history at Suffolk County Community College.

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Colin Powell. Stock photo

“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.”

Those were the words of respected military and government figure, former Secretary of State Colin Powell (R), who passed away Oct. 18 as a result of COVID-19 complications amid a cancer battle. A leader who reached the peak of his military career, he grew up with humble roots. Born on April 5, 1937, in Harlem to Jamaican immigrants, Powell lived within the difficult surroundings of South Bronx. As a young man, he witnessed a great deal of crime, drugs and a lack of opportunity within this part of New York City. Later in life, Powell served as a key spokesperson for a national mentoring organization that helped children who lived within at-risk areas to reach their fullest potential.  

Graduating high school, Powell enrolled with City College of New York, where he was accepted into the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Right away, he was drawn to the military discipline, liked wearing a distinctive uniform and performed well within an early team setting. Powell attained the rank of cadet colonel and led the drill and ceremony team for his college’s military program. By 1958, he graduated college and began his long and distinctive career within the Army. 

Powell served with distinction on two tours of duty in Vietnam from 1962-63 and 1968-69. He saw the start of the escalation of the war in Southeast Asia, and was present for the Tet Offensive. He observed the protests that were organized against the American government’s support of the war. Wounded twice, he saved two other soldiers after a helicopter crash. 

He was highly decorated, including the Purple Heart, for his combat and leadership in South Vietnam.

This officer from the mean streets of South Bronx began his climb through a series of political jobs that were tied to the military. While he was a combat veteran, it was perceived by his superiors that he had the ability to guide the armed forces during times of peace and war. Powell was respected for his calm and confident approach which was easy to follow. He attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and gained his master’s degree at George Washington University. 

After being promoted to major, he won a White House Fellowship and was assigned to the Office of Management and Budget during the administration of President Richard Nixon (R). By 1979, Powell began his rise within senior leadership.

Powell’s education, training and experience prepared him well for senior military and government positions. This climb of promotions and responsibilities was evident when he advised former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger (R). By 1987, Powell became national security adviser for President Ronald Reagan (R). 

With Powell being a combat veteran, it was no surprise that he would eventually command the armed forces during times of peace and war. He was commander of Army Forces Command during the fall of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall in 1989 and was now a four-star general. In October of that year, President George H. W. Bush (R) appointed Powell as the first African American officer to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. 

Powell led the military during the invasion of Panama in December 1989 through January 1990 to depose its leader, Manuel Noriega. This strategically located country between North America and South America dealt drugs, and the United States feared for the stability of the Panama Canal. American soldiers quickly took over the country, deposed Noriega and demonstrated the willingness of the U.S. government to intervene within Latin American affairs. Powell also oversaw the beginning operations of the U.S. military intervention in Somalia. The hope was the U.S. could bring humanitarian aid, comfort, food and stability to this strategic but troubled East African nation that was in the midst of a civil war.

Persian Gulf War

Perhaps within his career, the strongest role that Powell oversaw was the Persian Gulf War in 1990-91. Under its president, Saddam Hussein, Iraq invaded its neighboring oil-rich nation, Kuwait, and quickly overran its forces, taking control of the small country on the Persian Gulf. Hussein had the fourth largest military in the world and there were the concerns that he would invade Saudi Arabia with its vast oil reserves. Under the direction of Bush, American soldiers were quickly sent to Saudi Arabia to protect the kingdom under the name of Operation Desert Shield. 

Usually standing next to Bush, Powell had a direct and easy approach toward identifying the military objectives of the United States and the growing coalition of foreign military forces. For several months, he worked with nations around the world, including those Arabic countries from the Middle East to thwart the tyranny of Hussein. Before the land war started, there were some 750,000 coalition forces, with the United States as the most dominant partner with 540,000 armed forces, many stationed in Saudi Arabia.  

At first, Bush hoped that air power would be enough to dislodge the Iraqi army, without committing a large amount of soldiers. The president feared excessive casualties through the strength of the Iraqi army and its known use of biological and chemical weapons. Powell understood the concerns of Bush, but he was tasked with creating a plan that would succeed in ending this conflict and restoring the previous leadership of Kuwait. Looking at the president, Powell with Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf at his side outlined the plans.

Powell provided Schwarzkopf with abundant resources that comprised a superior military force created within the post-Cold War world. In the background, the former Soviet leaders must have openly wondered how they would have fared within a conventional war against the United States and the major nations of the West. 

At the head of this massive force was Powell and many other senior military figures who wanted to gain a victory in order to preserve peace in this region and to also end the negative stigma over the American loss of the Vietnam War. Many of these officers were older leaders who had served in Vietnam, and were pleased to oppose the Iraqi military. 

Always a firm figure, Powell was the architect of a military force that was transported thousands of miles away and equipped for desert warfare. After several long months of waiting, the coalition was poised to move into Kuwait and Southern Iraq. 

The Allied air war destroyed the Iraqi air force, tanks, troops and Scud missile sites which targeted Saudi Arabia and Israel. That Thanksgiving, Bush, a former aviator of World War II in the Pacific, and Powell traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet Schwarzkopf.  

After the holidays, time ran out for Hussein who refused to pull out of Kuwait. Operation Desert Storm began Jan. 17, 1991, through the roots of the plans that Powell and Schwarzkopf created to defeat the well-entrenched enemy. American armor and aircraft “blitzkrieged” Iraqi positions in Kuwait and Southern Iraq. Aggressively, they cut off and destroyed any chance of the Iraqis from being resupplied, and prevented an easy retreat away from the fighting. Inside of three days, the war was over. The Iraqi forces fled, were captured and killed during this short, but intense war.  

And so Powell guided these operations that successfully obliterated the presence of Iraq in Kuwait. This local hero from meager beginnings did not attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. However, he often saw many younger officers and soldiers from the inner cities who reminded him of his own background. The immense American strength during the Persian Gulf War shocked our friends and foes toward the swift resolve of this country to carry out large-scale fighting.

Secretary of state

Retiring from the military in 1993, Powell soon joined the Republican Party, and later served as the first African American secretary of state from 2001 to 2005 for President George W. Bush (R). 

Powell made the controversial case which tried to persuade Americans that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in Iraq after 9/11. As in the military, Powell was respected by his foreign counterparts as a secretary of state directing American foreign policy overseas. He went against the Republicans in 2008 to endorse the election of the first Black president, Barack Obama (D).

A man who positively operated in the background, Powell could be considered to be this generation’s equivalent of Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks and Hank Aaron. Through his regular approach, Powell broke the color barrier through his military and political accomplishments. And within his many decades in uniform, he was one of the most trusted American military and government leaders representing the strength of this nation. Powell passed away at age 84, and is survived by his wife Alma and three children.

Rich Acritelli is a social studies teacher at Rocky Point High School and an adjunct professor of American history at Suffolk County Community College.

Rocky Point High School students Giana Imeidopf, Sean Hamilton and Zachary Gentile helped with this article.

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The Rocky Point girls’ soccer team. Photo from Rich Acritelli

These were the words of the members of the Rocky Point High School girls’ soccer team, after they completed their schedule with an undefeated season. 

The Rocky Point girls’ soccer team. Photo from Rich Acritelli

This past Monday, they gained a hard fought 1-0 victory against the talented Wildcats of Shoreham-Wading River. Within every game, the “Lady Eagles” were a confident, but not a brash group of players, that never looked past any opponent. Currently, they are amongst the highest ranked teams within the state, and they look forward to the play-offs to continue their winning ways. Coach Peter Costa explained the dominant play of his girls as a “team that never quits in any game.”

It has been a unique year for the several seniors that comprise the nucleus of this team. Watching them interact with each other, they are an extremely close bunch that have formed an enduring bond on and off the field. This was demonstrated by senior right forward Gianna Amendola who scored the winning goal against Shoreham-Wading River. Amendola has been a scoring machine, as she leads the county with thirty-one goals, and she has set the single season record for the school. Against Shoreham, with three defenders on her, she scored the winning goal. Armed with a big smile and a can-do attitude, she is looking forward to playing next fall for a dominant four-year college. 

Next to Amendola is the “comic relief” for this team in defender Victoria Curreri. She was extremely proud of the “Great Wall of Defense” that this group has established in allowing only eight goals during the season and supporting the team with ten shutouts. All the defender’s credit Junior MaryKate Abernethy’s remarkable play in the net, to only allow eight goals within 16 games. Next fall, Curreri will be playing lacrosse at Iona College in New Rochelle.

Always with a huge smile, forward Alex Kelly has been a major presence on the offense. This talented four-year varsity soccer player and track and field jumper and sprinter will be attending Princeton University next fall. She has been a dominant offensive figure in creating the greatest number of assists and ranking second in points in Suffolk County.  This young lady that is always known for her positive demeanor, is also a tenacious player that makes her presence felt on the field.  Kelly has thoroughly enjoyed her time playing since her childhood with many of these girls who are about to graduate.  

Another important member of this team is Megan Loeser. The center mid-fielder is an extremely talented player that has been an important cog towards the success of this team. Awarded All-League and Division honors, this three-year captain can always be seen hustling and pushing her teammates against the opposition. This “field general” identifies this team as the hardest working group that she has played with during her 14-year soccer career for school and travel leagues. Always an upbeat young lady, Loeser expects to continue playing soccer in college.

Next to Loeser, is her best friend and nearby neighbor in Lindsey Lucia. An aggressive defender, she has a strong understanding of this sport, especially during big games. Like many of the other girls, she began playing sports within the CYO leagues. Lucia wears a large trade-mark smile, where this genuine student-athlete has been a starting varsity three-year captain. This spirited team leader has established the Rocky Point mantra for competing against difficult teams like that of Shoreham, East Islip and Hauppauge, is to handle each game like it’s the play-offs. Lucia will be attending C.W. Post next fall, where she will be playing lacrosse in Brookville. 

The Rocky Point girls’ soccer team. Photo from Rich Acritelli

Mia Negus recalls her younger moments of being taught this game with her teammates within the fields of Frank J. Caraseti Elementary School. She is a vital member of the vaunted defense that has made it extremely difficult for opposing schools to score against Rocky Point. Negus is excited to complete her high school on one of the most successful team’s in school history.

Senior Kaitlyn Reilly could be one of the most versatile student-athletes on this team. While she is a soft-spoken young lady, Reilly is a tough defensive player, that is proud of a group that always pulls for each other. This amazing student would like to play at a respected four-year school next fall, where she would like to major in elementary education. 

Looking up the field, Reilly often passes the ball to Lilly Resciniti, who is an extremely capable mid-fielder. Resciniti like that of Loeser, Kelly and Amendola, is a dominant member of this team, where she skillfully helps the offense and defense. She views the concentration of this team as a key factor within its “mind-set” to always practice and play 110% of the time.  An extraordinary student that is academically ranked tenth in her class, this mid-fielder is looking forward to attending medical school and studying neuroscience.  

Sophia Wood is extremely pleased to be a part of the “insane talent” that has surrounded this team.  Wood is a center mid-fielder that is looking forward to playing against the best players in Suffolk County during the play-offs. Like the other girls, she is thrilled to be part of a team that is extremely close, where they like to spend time together through their weekly pasta parties.  

Wood will be playing lacrosse next fall at St. Leo University. All of the girls would like to thank their fellow senior back-up goalie Julia Darby that has played with them for the last four years. Her support has been instrumental in helping the team prepare during practices and before games against some of the best teams in the county.

Many years down the road, as these ladies pursue their own path’s in life, they will always recall this regular season, where they were undefeated before the play-offs. With a sincere affection towards each other, the comradery of this group will continue to push them through the rigors of the play-offs. 

Costa believed that the “success this year has been our team bond. The players care for each other, they cheer for each other and spend time off the field together. Every practice is fun, and it is filled with energy.”

Long time Athletic Director Charles Delargy stated that an “undefeated season is a great accomplishment. To do it in power ranking where a team has to play against 16 different opponents is even more amazing.”  

And underclass players Michalina Wojnowski and Emily Velasquez understand the sheer presence of these strong players and they have expressed their gratitude in being part of a positive team that always strives for excellence. 

Rich Acritelli is a social studies teacher at Rocky Point High School and an adjunct professor of American history at Suffolk County Community College.

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