NORTHPORT
Hero’s Name Shines For Starlit Drive
Town honors Marine 25 years after death in Lebanon
By Luann Dallojacono/ ldallojacono@longislandernews.com

Years ago, Starlit Drive in Northport was a block where there were more than enough children to field two baseball teams. A block with an open door policy, where parents had to develop different methods to call their kids home, ranging from a loud whistle to the ringing of a bell.

Now that block has been renamed for one of its own, Captain Joseph Boccia, Jr. a Marine who lost his life serving in Beirut 25 years ago.

In a ceremony last Wednesday April 30, children, neighbors, relatives, town officials and local veterans groups gathered to rename Starlit Drive in honor of Boccia, who grew up on the block. At the service were Boccia’s brothers James, who now lives in New Hampshire, and Ray, who lives in Northport with his family.

Ray described his older brother as an energetic guy with a passion for fun and adventure that was unparallel. A 1973 Northport High School graduate, Joseph was a track star and attended Syracuse University on an athletic scholarship. As a student there he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), which gave him the option to enlist in officer’s candidate school upon graduation, but he chose a different route.

“In his mind he said, ‘If I’m going in, I’m going in as an enlisted man,’” said Ray.

Joseph went on to train at Parris Island, South Carolina, and moved up in rank to First Lieutenant. On a fateful day in October of 1983, Joseph, along with 241 others, was killed on a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon when a suicide bomber drove a truck full of explosives into the U.S. Marine barracks. He was posthumously promoted to captain.

Town officials elected to rename the street after Northport police chief Ric Bruckenthal approached the board with the idea. Bruckenthal, who lost his son in 2004 in Iraq, is one of Ray’s neighbors.

“It is an honor to name Starlit Drive in recognition of the sacrifice made by Capt. Joseph J. Boccia, Jr. who gave his life for his country and so that we can live in peace,” said Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone. “I encourage people to stop at this sign and reflect on Capt. Boccia’s memory and what he stood for in life. It is a fitting reminder of the sacrifices that our military makes every day to protect our freedom and least that we can do to preserve his memory.”

Ray said it’s an honor to have the Town rename the block that served as a source of so many fond memories for him, his five siblings, and the multitude of other children who grew up there.

“The funny thing about it was everybody had a partner,” said Ray. “We were all the same age, so everybody just paired up. It was almost magical the way everyone kind of had someone to be a best friend.”

Ray, the youngest Boccia child, said he and his siblings, all about a year apart, also paired off. His two sisters tended to stick together, as did his two middle brothers, James and Joseph.

“Their goal in life was try to get me,” Ray joked. “And my oldest brother Rich used to be my protector.”

Though Ray’s three daughters never got to meet their uncle Joseph, they are familiar with his tale. The new street sign’s location near the well-traveled Norwood Road may even make the girls, who bear the same last name as their uncle, the go-to sources for people wondering who Joseph Boccia was.

“They’ll be able to retell the story of my brother over and over again,” said Ray.