| I moved to N.Merrick from East New York Brooklyn
in the 9th Grade .....One of the first challenges of my early days at Merrick
Ave Jr High was to have a fight with a guy named Joe Simone....Since I
was from the city I must be a tough guy and to prove my toughnes I was
told I would have to fight Joe ,a person who I never even met..(This was
one of the reasons we left the city)...We had our fight outside the side
gate I'm pretty sure I lost and Roger Fahey consoled me and said I did
ok....As time went by I became friends with Joe and a bunch of others he
was hanging with. .In high school we were both in (rock) bands..... Joe
and I bought and traded some equipment together. .It was a fun time for
all...Then Joe got into a jam.. I was
told the judge had given him a choice the Marine Corp. or Jail.......Joe chose the Marines... My dad a Marine said the Marines would be a good thing for Joe..Except for that problem in Vietnam....I went to his house after his Mom had gotten notice of his death... (A lousy way to recieve this notice if I remember right from the Gov't...).. Joe was a good to those who really knew him.. I can still see him laughing when we did something stupid..... I will never forget these guys and others... They gave the supreme sacrafice.... I wear my star every memorial day so they will never be forgotten.... Joe Lomino Joe, you and I weren't the best of pals but you did it all and then some. USMC says it all, need I say more. Steve Crandall Ever since I got into Calhoun I had heard about Joe Simone. He was tough, he always got into fights, you did not want to mess with Joe Simone. I believe it was the summer before he enlisted in the Marines that he and I wound up on the same PBC Senior Baseball team. He was a catcher and I played a lttle infield and outfield. I was really intimidated when I realized Joe Simone was on the team. I figured I would look at him the wrong way and I would be dead meat. I couldn't have been more wrong. He was one of the nicest and quietest guys on the team. As I got to know him that summer we talked on many occasions and he made me realize, as I have come to realize many times since, that things and people are not always as they seem. I went to his funeral and can recall today just like it was yesterday looking at Joe in his dress blues and wondering how could this tough nice kid be lying there. Skip Seyer |