By Bill Miller

ASTORIA — A year ago, the Knights of Columbus Council #11449 at Bill LaCovara’s parish, Immaculate Conception in Astoria, honored him at the local Knights’ annual flag-raising ceremony.

The venue was the parish’s Catholic academy, and students from the school participated. LaCovara, a 4th-degree member of the Knights, was chauffeured to the event with his family in a vintage military staff car.

But on this year’s Flag Day — Friday, June 14 — LaCovara was unable to attend the event. He will turn 100 years old in November, and has slowed down considerably since Flag Day last year. His son Mike explained that his father mostly spends his days at home. 

So this year, LaCovara’s fellow Knights, with the help of some local Catholic academy students, brought Flag Day to him.

Dozens of kids from St. Francis Catholic Academy, down the street from LaCovara’s home on 46th Street, unfurled an American flag, 60 feet long, and marched it to his home. 

LaCovara greeted them from his front porch, with a broad smile and a hearty wave. 

Although LaCovara lives down the street from St. Francis Parish, he has belonged to Immaculate Conception Church in Astoria since marrying his late wife, Carmelita, after the war. 

Still, he is a longtime good neighbor of the St. Francis community. Its pastor, Msgr. Ralph Maresca, greeted LaCovara with the Navy vet’s pastor from Immaculate Conception, Msgr. Fernando Ferrarese. 

Meanwhile, seventh and fourth graders from St. Francis kept firm grips on the flag as the St. Francis Catholic Academy Singers, in grades 3-7, performed patriotic songs. Also, the first grade class — including a boy dressed as George Washington and a girl as Betsy Ross — made presentations on flag history and etiquette. 

LaCovara, who served aboard two destroyers, took part in every major Naval engagement in the Pacific during the last two years of World War II, including the Battles of Leyte Gulf, the invasions to retake the Philippines, the attack on Iwo Jima, and the Battle of Okinawa. He was wounded in action and witnessed the deaths of numerous shipmates. 

“It’s an honor to be here,” LaCovara said to everyone assembled outside his home. “After serving almost three years in the Navy, we defeated a deadly enemy, and I’m proud to say we did. Thank God I’m here to talk about it.” 

It was a busy day for Mario Massa, the grand knight of Council #11449, who led the event. 

Earlier, he organized first graders from Immaculate Conception Catholic Academy in another Flag Day event, this time at the nearby home of Susan Ferrara, down the street from the school on 29th Street. 

Her husband, Biagio Ferrara, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and later became an ironworker who helped build the Verrazano Bridge and other projects. He also erected a flagpole in his front yard, where he proudly raised the colors at every chance. 

Susan Ferrara is a member of the senior citizens group that meets at the academy, which is how she knows Massa. He enlisted the help of fellow Knights to repaint the flagpole and award her with a new flag. 

Massa, Msgr. Ferrarese, teachers, and other adults accompanied the first graders to the home, where they raised the new flag. 

The widow, joined by her niece, Ann Webb, welcomed the students, all dressed in red, white, and blue, and carrying flags they made themselves in class. Ferrara and Webb praised the students’ artistic abilities and their respect for the Korean War veteran. 

“It was beautiful. They worked so hard on their flags,” a smiling Ferrara said of the children. “It’s great to see young children respecting their country’s flag.”