Have you ever met anybody who you felt deserved recognition for all he's accomplished? Longtime Farmingdale resident Joseph Gallo, after reading the following memoir by George Gardino, also a Farmingdale resident, feels that Gardino deserves his just recognition. Below is the article written by Gardino, a memoir of his time in the US Navy.

We may all at some time in our lives have to make one. Will we be right or will we be wrong? That is a decision each person has to make at some time in their life.

A balmy night in the South Pacific, sailing to a destination unknown to a sailor of only 20 years of age. In a convoy of LSTs approximately 50 ships, five abreast and 10 in a row. It had to be about 2:30 or 3 in the morning and all was quiet in the wheelhouse. The seas were calm that night and the splashing of the water seemed soothing. At nine or 10 knots an LST does not make a lot of noise in the water. As I was standing in the hatchway, I started to hear the clicking of the gyro. This made me realize that there was a problem and our ship was going off its course. I looked over and noticed that we were closing in on the ship on our port side. As difficult as it is for a 326-foot ship to respond to a quick turn, I knew there was little time before a collision would occur. I looked around for other crew members close to me, but there was no one in sight. Where everybody was on the one night that could have been our last is beyond me. There was no time to stop and think, all I could do was try to steer the ship as best I could to save the lives of hundreds of sailors. With all the ammunition on the two ships combined and all the others surrounding us, all I could think about was the disaster that could have occurred within the next few seconds. To this day I know that only God put us back on course. It was strange that no one on the LST 558 knew of the occurrence aboard the ship that night. As I went on, I thought all was well and done. To me, I felt no need to bring up what had happened, so I just left well enough alone.

Just when I thought that was the end of it, really is was only just the beginning. The other ships in the convoy began calling to the command ship, and our captain took the heat. I remember the day there was a trial at captain's mast. I was asked to report any men that I knew who had fallen asleep that night while on duty. As he asked me this question (which seemed like a simple question that could be easily answered) I thought of something. I thought back to the beginning of our journey when the captain stated that he would kill any man he found asleep at the wheel or at his post. If I told the captain what I knew, I felt I would be responsible for the death of all those men. I wondered if he could find enough bullets to actually follow through with his threat. There were so many men at fault that night. The officer up on the conning tower and his signal man, the messenger who runs for coffee, etc. The gun turrets fore and aft had two men each, four more men obviously did not know what had happened. I assumed that the sailor on the helm was not the only person asleep that night. None of these men had been questioned. As I repeated the question to myself in my head over and over again, I knew I had to make a judgment call. I chose not to report the men because I felt it was the right thing to do. Due to this, I was placed into the ship's brig for three days on bread and water. I lost my second class quartermaster fate and was demoted in pay. Why wasn't the officer on the conning tower ever questioned for not seeing the mishap? To demote a sailor, change his rank and take away his check, has to be in the records and log book of the LST 558. No one came to my rescue and I alone appeared to be a criminal. This fact stayed with me for 50 years.

There are no heroes in my story besides God. A ship as large as 326 feet can not turn rapidly. I do not feel that my judgment could have straightened out this disaster without the help of God. However, the log book of LST 558 that is somewhere in the archives of American Ships, states there was no collision that night. I feel the insubordinate charges against me were wrong. I was the only man awake that night on board ship and I felt that captain's threat was serious. I made the judgment call to suffer the consequences rather than to be the reason all those men would lose their lives. I still feel I made the right decision and if I had to do it over again I would. I made 11 invasions on my way to Tokyo and I served three years in the service. I received six bronze stars. I am the son of Sergeant Guy Gardino who served 24 years in the New York National Guard Co. E, 105th Infantry out of Schenectady, NY. I had all intentions of staying in the service. I was brought up in a militaristic family and had all intentions of staying in the service but this incident discouraged me.

My dad emigrated from Italy at the age of nine, and at 16 misled the US Navy about his age to serve in the first World War and was being sent to Europe. While aboard ship the armistice was signed, the ship returned to America and he was honorably discharged for being too young. Later he joined the New York State National Guard where he served for 24 years.

I feel the truth of this story should be known and now I want to exonerate my record. I am now 74 years old, a proud father of five and a grandfather. I would be very happy to be George Gardino quartermaster second class and not to have the charges in my record that I was insubordinate to my captain. All I ask for at this time is for an appointment for my 10-year-old son at Annapolis. He has come a long way in his life. I feel he is a very bright boy. I am not just saying that because he is my son, but he is a very bright boy and has the ability to accomplish any challenges that come his way. Now that I am older this is one of the only requests I have. It would make me so proud to see my youngest son follow in my footsteps. I love the honor of serving in the US Navy and I wish for him to experience the honor that I have had.