It was St. Patrick’s Day in 1967 when 23-year-old Marine George Sullivan of Southold ran onto a South Vietnam battlefield in the midst of a firefight and pulled two wounded men to safety, lifting one and dragging the other, saving their lives. He was shot in the legs, wrist and shoulder and lost his left leg to his injuries.
And so it seems fitting that almost 50 years to the day of his heroic deed, Sullivan will lead Cutchogue’s 13th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade as grand marshal.
“It’s such an honor to be chosen,” says Sullivan, who marched half a dozen times in New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade when he was in grammar school and college.
“This time I get to ride in a car,” he said with a laugh.
Although being Irish is not a requirement for grand marshal, Sullivan is nonetheless Irish through and through, as evidenced by his smiling blue eyes.
“My great-grandparents were born in Ireland, but I’m an American first,” he said. “And proud to be.”
Joe Corso of the North Fork Chamber of Commerce, organizers of the Cutchogue St. Patrick’s Day parade, said the parade committee tries to choose a grand marshal from a different sector of the community every year. This year they were looking for someone from town government and thought of Sullivan, who is the Receiver of Taxes for Southold Town.
“But George was unusual,” says Corso. “It ended up not being about the fact that he is Receiver of Taxes. He’s a Vietnam war veteran, very active in the community, he’s involved with the American Legion and mostly, he’s an all-around nice guy. Such a gentle individual.”
Born on Jan. 21, 1944 in Brooklyn, Sullivan grew up in Lynbrook and graduated from Iona College in 1966. The day of his graduation he received his commission from the Marine Corps and in short order reported to Quantico for training.
He ended up in the Quảng Trị province of South Vietnam in January of 1967, with a rifle platoon. It was only his second combat experience when the injury to his left leg ended his military career — and nearly his life; he was given last rites by a priest while on the hospital ship.
Sullivan credits his survival and recovery to his faith, his family and the Marines. He did his crying, attended his retirement ceremony, where he was awarded the Navy Cross, and moved on with his life.
“I don’t believe in living in the past.”
Sullivan returned to the States, earned an MBA in taxation, got married and settled down in Southold with his wife Margaret and two children.
He grew his accounting practice, taught as an adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College, coached CYO sports and became involved in veteran and community endeavors.
About 15 years ago he participated in a Disabled Veterans of America program which arranges for vets to visit wounded soldiers in the hospital.
“I really wanted to do this,” he said. “When I was lying in the hospital with over a hundred amputees surrounding me, not one WWII guy came to see us. I wasn’t going to let that happen this time around. I think we [Vietnam veterans] were viewed by them as not deserving. When I went down to Walter Reed Hospital I was determined to make sure those veterans knew there was someone else caring for them other than their families.”
Sullivan remembers one young soldier who had fallen into such despair over the loss of his leg that he would talk to no one except his mother.
“He got the word about our program and the next time we were down there he was more than happy to see us. He told us he wanted to become a physical therapist. So he went from despair — he didn’t care about getting better — to the point where he said ‘I’ve gotta get going.’ I think it was the visits that helped him.”
After a heart attack and a bout with pneumonia in 2014, Sullivan was forced to slow down. Once an avid golfer and swimmer, he has had to take it easy and build up his strength. Although travel for Sullivan is restricted, last summer he made his way to Citi Field, where he was the guest of honor at a Mets game.
“I’ve always been a Mets fan and Sandy Alderson, the general manager of the Mets, is a former Marine officer. I got to meet Sandy through friends. They presented me with a flag; they put photos and my biography up on the big screen. It was quite a moving event.”
“Plus the Mets won,” he says with a chuckle.
One thing on his bucket list that he looks forward to eagerly is a trip to Washington D.C. to visit the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.
Sullivan’s words from an interview with the Veterans History Project, which records oral histories of American war veterans, are inscribed on one of 48 glass panels at the memorial:
“Yes, I wished things would have worked out a little better for me but I did come home alive and had a fairly successful life.”
