Creator of the original Islip Train Station weathervane, Bernardino F. Genchi, born October 22, 1945, was an Islip Native and an Islip High School graduate, Class of 1964. "Dino" resided during those formative years in a house on Birch St. along with his Italian father, Attilo, English mother, Frances, and younger siblings Alfred and Diana.
His passion was tinkering with cars and car engines in his driveway at home and working after school and weekends at a local gas station with a dream of someday becoming a pilot.
Known by his family and friends for being "good with his hands", it seemed only natural that the weathervane he crafted as a community project in his Islip High School shop class be selected as the one to have the honor of adorning the newly-constructed Islip Train Station building. In addition, he was bestowed the privilege of installing the weathervane himself.
At the dedication ceremony, he was given a place to stand alongside the dignitaries on the podium that day. When the preliminary speeches were over, he was hoisted up via a "cherry picker" and he placed the weathervane in its new home atop the building.
The daughter he never saw grow up now has four boys of her own. "Dino" will always be remembered by family and friends as a dedicated Islip native, hard-working man, husband and father. He was loved by all who knew him. He gave his talents to the Islip community and he gave his life for his country. His name appears on panel 20W, row 033 on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. and he is buried in the Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, N.Y., in Section X, Site 2584.
By Rosalie Caracciolo Goebel, (Dino's cousin), Islip High School Class of 1966.
Biography and The Original December 7, 1963 Weathervane Ceremony
The 2021 Weathervane Ceremony December 6, 2021
MTA Replaces Historic Weather Vane at Islip LIRR Station
Fifty-eight years after a local high school student topped the Islip LIRR Station with a train-themed weather vane he created before being lost in the line of duty in Vietnam, MTA Long Island Rail Road President Phillip Eng today joined veterans and local officials to install a new one on top of the Islip Station.
Islip High School student Bernardino F. “Dino” Genchi, then 16, made the original weather vane as part of his school training using designs created by Richard Boyd, an Islip resident who designed the station building. When the Islip Station building was dedicated on Dec. 7, 1963, Genchi had the honor of placing the weather vane on top of the station’s central tower.
Sadly, less than six years later, Genchi was killed when the helicopter he was piloting was shot down in Vietnam in July of 1969. The LIRR installed a replacement in 1998, which has been lost to time, and the original is now stored in the Railroad Museum of Long Island in Riverhead.
The new weather vane being installed today more closely harkens back to Genchi’s original.
"The Long Island Rail Road is steeped in history over its 187 years, and we're so proud to preserve U.S. Army Warrant Officer Bernardino Francis Genchi's place in that history," said LIRR President Phillip Eng. "A Vietnam War Veteran and Gold Star Hero, Bernardino will forever be remembered through this rededication at his hometown station at Islip, as we honor his courage and that of all past and present veterans and those who continue to serve our country."
“This is important because it sort of codifies our history and it’s important for us to remember the history” said Angie Carpenter, Town of Islip Supervisor. “It really brings the community together and we’re very very happy for that.”
“This is beautiful that we’re doing this – to remember history, remember a great man, Dino,” said Steven Flotteron, Suffolk Co. Legislator, “his history, his memory of what he’s done when he was in High School to how he gave his life for our country, for our freedom. This is terrific.”
“This means a lot to us veterans that we can recognize somebody from Islip who did this little task by making a little wooden train in 1963 and come back in 2021 and remember him, remember this train station, what he did, and for his friends and the community and school not to forget Dino,” said Town of Islip Councilman John C. Cochrane Jr., Chairman of the Town Islip Veterans Advisory Board.
“Although I never met Dino, he is my brother, as are all Vietnam vets, men and women. We have a bond that no one will ever break,” said Roby Johnson, Commander, Suffolk County American Legion. “I wish I had known him, anybody that would do what he did, he sacrificed the most – the ultimate sacrifice, his life – for this country.” (MTA Press Release)
After high school and some community college classes, "Dino" met and married Eileen Gough. They moved to North Babylon and together they had a baby daughter, Dina, who was barely a year old when he entered the Army during the war in Vietnam, as a trained helicopter pilot and Warrant Officer with the 135th Assault Helicopter Company. Tragically, on July 22, 1969, at the age of 23, while on a mission in Vinh Long Provence as Aircraft Commander, his vehicle crashed and all aboard perished.
As an additional honor and special tribute to all those whose names appear on the Vietnam Memorial Wall, his name, along with the others was placed on board the Stardust spacecraft. Stardust, NASA's comet sample return mission was launched on February 7, 1999 carrying 2 sets of microchips with all the names. One set returned to Earth with the Sample Return Capsule, which landed in Utah on January 15, 2006 and has since been transported to the curation facility at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The other set of chips including "Dino's" name, is mounted in the spacecraft body and will remain in space forever.
