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Posted on 12/03/2001 12:56:22 AM PST by NYCVirago
Family, neighbors saddened by war hero's outburst and confrontation with police
Robert T. Boody is a man of stark contrasts.
A highly decorated World War II pilot, Boody flew the flag every day outside his West Brighton home, welcomed new neighbors with parties, and was feted for his community service work.
But the 81-year-old East Raleigh Avenue resident, who lost a leg in the war, is known as a loner, estranged from his wife and family by rigid views of law and order, patriotism and God, which kept them and others at a distance.
Wednesday evening it all came crashing down on the former war hero. Apparently enraged that children playing outside had accidentally damaged the spotlight that illuminated his American flag, Boody snapped, firing a shotgun into the air, then barricaded himself inside his house for three hours before police broke in and subdued him.
No one was injured.
Yesterday, as Boody underwent psychiatric evaluation at St. Vincent's Medical Center, West Brighton, neighbors and family members painted the portrait of a complex and proud man who had become more reclusive in recent years.
"I don't know that anybody ever expects this kind of thing," said Boody's son, Lee, a Castleton Corners resident and a retired city police officer. "He's a law-abiding citizen, with a very positive history of achievement on Staten Island, [but], I think physiologically, he's not 100 percent."
Vic Navarra, a longtime neighbor of Boody's, was also groping for an explanation.
"It's very sad it's come to this," Navarra said yesterday morning. "He could be difficult, but he [is] a wonderful man. He was always good to my family."
An East Raleigh Avenue mainstay, Boody had a history of community involvement.
In 1973, he was honored as the YMCA's "Man of the Year," and was presented the state grand lodge Masonic service award in 1987. For a time, he also delivered food to homebound adults through the Meals on Wheels program.
Navarra said Boody often rolled out the red carpet for new neighbors, welcoming them with a party. And while the two maintained a warm relationship for 20 years, the older man's patriotic fervor and religious zeal rubbed some the wrong way, he said.
"He had some strong beliefs about religion and politics and felt it was his duty to influence people," Navarra said.
It was not uncommon for Boody to slip religious literature under neighbors' and relatives' doors or pass it out on the street, said Navarra and Boody's older brother, Irving R. Boody Jr., 84, of Dongan Hills.
From 1993 through 1997, the Advance published three letters to the editor from Boody in which he criticized then-President Bill Clinton. In fact, Boody called for Clinton's removal from office more than four years before the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke.
In that 1993 letter, Boody urged Advance readers to "demand, via the Capitol Hill switchboard, for your senators and your own congressman to start impeachment proceedings immediately, in accord with Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution of the United States, against President Clinton on the charge that he repeatedly has failed to perform his sworn obligations."
He reiterated his view in 1994: "I, as a combat-disabled, retired Air Force officer, suggest for your serious consideration that President Clinton be impeached. Otherwise millions of American fighting men have died in vain for Old Glory and all that it symbolizes."
A one-time Congressional candidate in 1952, Boody had little contact with his family and lived by himself after his wife, Mary, left him 10 years ago, said his brother.
"He was a very lonely fellow, completely reclusive," said the elder Boody, a major fund-raiser for Staten Island University Hospital and a lifetime honorary chairman of the hospital's board of trustees.
Even after leaving the Army Air Forces and working for American Airlines and the family import-export firm, Irving R. Boody and Co., Boody was immersed in the military, his brother said. He traveled the country, attending veterans' conventions and reunions.
During World War II, Boody flew 115 missions, delivering supplies and ammunition to Allied troops fighting the Japanese in Burma before losing his leg in 1944 in a takeoff accident.
He attained the rank of first lieutenant and was honored with at least a half-dozen war medals and awards, including the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster. In 1989, he self-published a memoir, entitled "Food-Bomber Pilot, China-Burma-India," about his war experiences.
In recent years, however, Boody severed his relationships with local veterans' groups. A Masonic War Veterans member who marched with the organization in the Memorial Day parade in Travis, Boody hadn't come around in a while, officials said.
"I haven't seen much of Bob in the last three or four years," said Fred Black, commander of the American Legion and Auxiliary of Richmond County.
Boody also lost contact with the Richmond County Golden K Kiwanis Club, sources said.
The alienation extended to his family, Lee Boody said.
And while admitting that, he, too, was searching for answers, the younger Boody cautioned against judging his father too harshly.
"Remember that he was a productive member of society and a war hero," said Lee Boody as he awaited word from the hospital. "We're hoping to be able to get him some care and protect the neighborhood."
Boody's arraignment was delayed pending psychiatric evaluation, said Monica Brown, a spokeswoman for District Attorney William L. Murphy. It was not immediately clear yesterday when the tests will be completed.
Boody was arrested Wednesday night and charged with first-degree and second-degree reckless endangerment, and unlawful rifle possession, a violation of the city administrative code, said Ms. Brown.
The weapons charge was levied because Boody fired the Remington shotgun in public, within 10 to 15 feet of other homes, Ms. Brown said. Boody had permits for the shotgun and two rifles police found on the premises, she said.
Boody faces a maximum sentence of two-and-a-third to seven years if convicted of first-degree reckless endangerment, the most serious charge, said Ms. Brown.
"The safety of the public is of paramount importance," she said. "But we will, of course, take into account the information we receive from the hospital regarding Mr. Boody's psychiatric evaluation."
Sad but true.
Good suggestion.
Is everyone here familiar with Send Christmas Cards to a Viet Nam Vet ?
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This story stinks.
Unfortunately, this is New York City, so the gun laws are pretty strict. I hope they don't lock this veteran up for this.
Distressing story. Of course we know he shouldn't be allowed to speak his mind or have an opinion on anything. This is America. The Country he served with honor. The Country that is abandoning him.
Amendment II:
"...the right of the people to keep an bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Isn't there a contradiction here?
What's also sad is that Americans keep pissing away more and more of that freedom with every passing year.
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