Being military was a family affair. Dick’s father was a WWII Army Captain. His father insisted all his sons must first go to college then volunteer for the draft. Dick graduated with his 2-year degree from Alfred State. Although, Dick had two knee surgeries, he passed the Army physical and was drafted in 1969. After his basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, he went to Fort Lewis Washington for his infantry training. During this training he suffered a serious knee injury. Dick discouraged any medical discharge and spent 4 months in the hospital. Dick recalls one of the hardest things to deal with was being in the hospital long enough to witness the return of many soldiers from Vietnam, some of them were ones he had trained with. He witnessed his comrades’ suffering. Dick said, “they were in rough shape”. One such person was his infantry instructor who was seriously injured to include an amputated foot.
After leaving the hospital Dick was transferred to Fort Mead as the morning report clerk. Due to his ability to type fast, he excelled. Dick credits his former typing teacher, Mr. Donald Forman of Angelica. Dick moved through the ranks, achieving Spec 5 with the Judicial Branch as a Legal Clerk. A major responsibility was that of handling those who had gone AWOL.
He was offered a sizeable re-enlist bonus, however ultimately declined. In 1971 he discharged at the same time his older brother Bill was at Fort Dix. He stopped by to pay his brother a visit on his way home. Dick’s brother Jim had a knack for diesel mechanics and enlisted in the Army directly from high school. Jim spent his life career in the diesel mechanics field. Dick’s younger brother Roy(age 14), passed away when Dick was 16 years old.
Dick married his wonderful wife, Roxy Graves in 1974 and had 4 children, Kari, AJ, Brock and Kyle. Sadly, Dick was predeceased by his son Brock in 2002 and his wife in 2009.
Dick has many accomplishments such as Allegany County Highway Superintendent, OTIS Eastern, Southern Tier Transportation and Scio School Board member.
Today Dick enjoys working for himself, spending time with his significant other, Tammy Gelser and his family. He has 3 surviving children and 6 grandchildren.
When asked what his greatest joy is, he answered “My family! I am so proud of them all!”
Dick humbly states we should honor all those veterans that have suffered mental and physical ailments from wartime service.
The Town of Scio would like to thank Richard (Dick) Young for his service, for it takes every single enlisted member of the military to keep this country safe, no matter what role they play.
