Town of Babylon Councilwoman Jackie Gordon and New York State Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre recently joined with members of the Town’s Veterans’ Advisory Board and hosted a ceremony to honor local high school graduates who are going on to serve in the military. 31 total students from the Town of Babylon will be joining the ranks of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Suffolk County Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory were also in attendance to commend the graduates.
Command Sergeant Major (Retired) Augusto L. Tavernier, who currently resides in Brentwood, delivered remarks at the ceremony. CSM Tavernier served as a squad leader and cannon crewman for the 5th Battalion 5th Field Artillery, and served for 24 years as a Military Policeman. While serving our country, CSM Tavernier earned more than a dozen awards and decorations including the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Ribbon.
Councilwoman Gordon, a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army Reserves who was deployed four times, wished the young men and women the best and thanked them for answering the call to serve their country. Each of the graduates was presented with an official Town of Babylon proclamation in their honor.
The following are the local high school graduates who will be serving in the military:
Shaneka Bernard, Amityville Memorial High School, West Point
Jeoffrey Delaleu, Amityville Memorial High School, United States Army
Bryan Larsen, Babylon Junior-Senior High School, United States Navy
Kevin Aparicio, Deer Park High School, United States Marine Corps
Dylan Frangipani, Deer Park High School, United States Marine Corps
Matthew Guglielmi, Deer Park High School, United States Army Reserves
Tafsir Huq, Deer Park High School, United States Navy
Brendan McDowell, Deer Park High School, United States Marine Corps
Steven Rodgers, Deer Park High School, United States Army
Ebony Ivory, Half Hollow Hills High School West, United States Navy
Brian Kim, Half Hollow Hills High School West, United States Marine Corps
James Feeney, Lindenhurst Senior High School, United States Marine Corps
Timothy Fleming, Lindenhurst Senior High School, United States Army
Nicco Justiniano, Lindenhurst Senior High School, United States Navy
James Maher, Lindenhurst Senior High School, United States Navy
Angelica Tighe, Lindenhurst Senior High School, United States Coast Guard
Emily Warren, Lindenhurst Senior High School, United States Marine Corps
Kristina Cunha, North Babylon High School, United States Army
Steven Szabo, Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School, United States Navy
William Torns, Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School, United States Marine Corps
James Ciolino, West Babylon Senior High School, United States Navy
Bruno Estevez, West Babylon Senior High School, United States Marine Corps
Anthony Garay, West Babylon Senior High School, United States Marine Corps
Richard Limone, West Babylon Senior High School, United States Marine Corps
Peter Papadatos, West Babylon Senior High School, United States Navy
Jonathan Paszkiewicz, West Babylon Senior High School, United States Navy
Dennis Wolf, West Babylon Senior High School, United States Army
George Fontaine, Wyandanch Memorial High School, United States Army National Guard
Maurece Miller, Wyandanch Memorial High School, United States Army
Robert Morgan, Wyandanch Memorial High School, United States Army National Guard
Saleek Tatum, Wyandanch Memorial High School, United States Marine Corps