ITEM PHOTO BY SPENSER HASAK
Veterans Richard Hayes, left, of Revere, and Alyn Pinkofsky of Wayland reunited in Revere on Wednesday after 60 years and spoke about the time they spent together on the USS Wasp and Intrepid.
By THOMAS GRILLO
REVERE — The last time Dick Hayes and Alyn Pinkofsky saw each other, Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, a movie ticket cost $1, and girls were playing with a new doll called “Barbie.”
The two U.S. Navy veterans, who were deployed on the USS Wasp and the USS Intrepid during the 1950s, were reunited Wednesday in front of the American Legion hall on Broadway, nearly 60 years after they served together.
There were hugs, shared memories, and a planned lunch as soon as reporters finished with their questions.
“It’s great to see Alyn again,” said Hayes, a Revere native who just turned 83. “We hugged and reminisced about our service and vowed to keep in touch.”
Pinkofsky, 82, dubbed “the younger one” by Hayes, said he never imagined the two would ever see each other again.
But that all changed last week. That’s when Marc Silvestri, director of the city’s Veterans Office, stepped in to help.
A few months ago, Hayes visited the VA Hospital in Jamaica Plain where he was fitted for a hearing aid. The doctor told him the hearing loss was probably due to his military service. As a result, the doctor said he may be entitled to benefits and referred him to Revere’s Veterans Office for help.
But after filing the application, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said they couldn’t confirm whether Hayes had been in the military. Silvestri said if there was a shipmate who can testify to his service, that would meet the federal requirements. Hayes knew Pinkofsky still lived in Massachusetts, but didn’t know where.
Silvestri went to work. He checked Facebook, but no luck. But he discovered Pinkofsky on whitepages.com. The online phonebook tracked his moves from Dorchester to Brockton to Wayland.
“It was all there including his phone number,” said Silvestri. “It helped that Alyn spelled his first name differently and Pinkofsky was an unusual last name.”
The next thing they knew, Silvestri had arranged the meeting for the two of them.
“This is part of the job I’m blessed with,” he said.
The two vets discussed what they called their “lousy job” on the aircraft carriers.
“Our job was to start the jet airplanes,” said Hayes. “We had to crawl underneath the jet, take the heavy cables and connect them to the aircraft. Once the engine started, the jet would start to shake and we were underneath with no way to escape until the plane took off. It wasn’t glamorous.”
They were just 22 years old when the aircraft carrier was called to action during unrest in Beirut, Lebanon, for a four-month operation in 1958.
“We were there during the crisis in Lebanon,” said Pinkofsky. “But this is a lot better being reunited with Dick in Revere.”
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].