Bethpage Medal of Honor Recipient Remembered

Posted by Heather Doyle. Written by Joe Dowd.

A memorial to honor a Medal of Honor winner who sacrificed his life to save others was dedicated in Bethpage recently. 

1st Lt. Stephen E. Karopczyc, who grew up in Bethpage, served in the United States Army’s Company A, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division during the Vietnam War. He received the medal posthumously for heroic action on March 12, 1967, in Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam. 

Numerous town and other elected representatives attended the June 15 unveiling of a memorial located at the rotary circle near the Bethpage LIRR Station. 

And with good reason. According to the official U.S. Army account: 

Lt. Karopczyc, under intense enemy fire and in the open, hurled colored smoke grenades to designate the positions of the enemy for helicopter gunships. He was wounded above the heart by an enemy sniper but continued to direct his men.

Once Karopczyc had gotten his troops to a safe area along with 2 other wounded soldiers, an enemy grenade landed with a few feet of them. 

Karopcyc threw his body on the grenade, sacrificing himself to protect his comrades. He succumbed to his severe wounds 2-hours later. 

In January 1969, Secretary of the Army Stanley R. Resor presented the Medal of Honor to his parents Edward and Katherine Karopczyc. Both of Karopczyc’s parents attended the memorial ceremony in Bethpage.

Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto was joined by Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, New York State Assemblyman Michael Montesano, and newly appointed Oyster Bay Councilwoman Michele M. Johnson.

Venditto has wanted to honor the Medal of Honor winner for some time. Bethpage resident Gary Bretton and Matt Rufrano of the Town of Oyster Bay’s Veterans Services Division, spearheaded the project, and both were pleased to learn Karopczyc’s parents were still alive and able to attend, town officials said. 

Bethpage has several public memorials at the location, including one for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Supervisor Venditto felt the recognition for Lt. Karopczyc was long overdue," said Kurt Ludwig, a town spokesman. "It was funded by community sponsors and local fundraising."