Flag Flies High For Marine Corps Vet In Hampton Bays

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — A flag is flying high for a local hero in Hampton Bays.

The Hampton Bays School District is continuing its mission to honor a local veteran each month — and in December, the American flag is flying for Frank Arcuri.

Arcuri, a Marine Corps veteran, was honored at a ceremony held on Dec. 8 at Hampton Bays Elementary School. During the ceremony, high school senior Oscar Mora, who has enlisted in the Army, read Arcuri’s biography while Marin Smith read her winning Voice of Democracy essay, the district said. Also performing were the high school's select choir and the marching band; the event concluded with the raising of the flag.

According to a bio provided by the school district, Frank Arcuri, whose family lived in Patchogue, was born in 1943 in a hospital in Port Jefferson. 'There were no hospitals in the Patchogue area and the hospital in Port Jefferson was the closest one," the release said.

After graduating from Patchogue High School in 1960, at 18, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and was sent to Parris Island, SC for boot camp.

After a "grueling" 13 weeks, Arcuri graduated Marine boot camp and was sent to Camp Geiger for 59 days for advanced infantry training, the release said.

Camp Geiger is a satellite camp of Camp Lejeune and is located in North Carolina. After finishing his training, he was assigned to the Second Marine Division at Camp Lejeune and given an office job.

In 6 months, Arcuri requested to be transferred overseas.

Next, Arcuri was sent to the Brooklyn Navy Yard "but was found to be too short for embassy duty or for ship duty," the release said.

Instead, he was sent to Quantico, VA where he was assigned to a training and demonstration school, where he was trained in tactical warfare through mock battle scenarios, and "posed as the enemy," the release said.

Arcuri was honorably discharged in 1963 and was awarded the Marine Good Conduct Medal. He also earned the expert rifleman’s medal with the M1 rifle and the marksman’s medal with the Colt .45 pistol, the release said.

After being discharged, Arcuri moved to Brooklyn, became a steamfitter and joined the steamfitter’s union. He worked as a steamfitter for 30 years and then retired.

Arcuri first met his future wife, Teresa, "years before, when she was just a kid, but it wasn’t until many years later when he saw her again while attending his cousin’s wedding that he really noticed her," the district said.

The couple dated and were married in 1963, only a few months after his discharge. They have two daughters, Dianne and Teresa. Arcuri's family lived in Brooklyn until his daughter married and moved to Hampton Bays, where her husband’s family had a home. When her first child was born, Arcuri and his wife moved to Hampton Bays.

Arcuri is a life member of the Marine Corps League, a member of the American Legion Hand Aldrich Post for 14 years and also a member of the Legion Riders Motorcycle Group — he also enjoys fishing, the release said.

“The district is proud to honor Mr. Arcuri for his bravery and service to the United States,” Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Denise Sullivan said.

Photo courtesy of the Hampton Bays School District.