NORTH WILDWOOD – There is a unique club – perhaps kinship is a better word – that exists among those who have lost a family member who died in service to the United States.
This was never more evident than in the reaction of former state Sen. Nick Asselta, who spoke at the dedication of the first phase of the Gold Star Families Memorial Gateway on Saturday, May 3, before a crowd that included veterans, first responders and family of the deceased, as well as the general public.
Asselta spoke after Thomas Corcoran, who with his sister Suzanne at his side detailed the account of their brother, Patrick, who was killed in Vietnam in 1969. As difficult as it was to recount their brother’s life, and his death in military service, it was also painful for Asselta to listen, as the Corcoran family’s story rang true to his own experience.
Tom Corcoran recounted how his brother, the eldest child, was someone everyone liked, describing him as a “terrific brother.” He said that his brother liked music and from age 11 learned what it was to earn money by delivering newspapers. He passed this ethic on to his younger brother by paying him to shine his shoes.
Patrick Corcoran moved up to delivering pizzas in Philadelphia before graduating Father Judge High School, after which he joined the Navy, becoming a radar technician on the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans.
Asselta said his brother, Army First Lt. Charles C. Asselta, traded his football helmet for an army helmet, traded good, homecooked meals for food out of a can, and a day at the beach for fighting in rice paddies in Vietnam. Asselta, like many others at the time, enlisted rather than wait for the draft to call his number.
“He said, ‘All my friends are being drafted, so I’m joining,’” Asselta said.
Besides that, he had a World War II veteran for a father, who had instilled a sense of patriotism and service into him and his brothers. Asselta was a field artillery unit commander.
On March 18, 1968, Asselta and his unit came under fire while doing recon in Long An Province in South Vietnam. He was killed by enemy fire; he was 21. For his service, Asselta was awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, Marksmanship Badge, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation and Vietnam Gallantry Cross.
Corcoran was aboard the USS Frank E. Evans when, on June 3, 1969, at around 3 a.m., the Evans was struck by an Australian aircraft carrier. Corcoran, 19, was one of 74 sailors who were killed. Only one body was recovered.
North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello in his remarks highlighted how young these service members were during the Vietnam war.
“What has struck me was, when I met Tom Corcoran, I had been going to memorial events and would see the veterans who were in their 60s, 70s and 80s. These (deceased service members) were young – in their late teens or early 20s,” Rosenello said.
Families Memorial.
Rosenello said the mothers of these young men also were young and have had to deal with the pain for 50 years, which he said was evidently still raw in 2025.
“That’s why the Gold Star Families Memorial is so important,” he said.
For the Corcoran and Asselta families, even 50 years later certain dates do not pass without the sense of loss at the reminder of their loved ones: holidays, birthdays and, of course, the day their service member lost his life.
“The dates … it’s never the same,” the former senator said.
Tom Corcoran said that, in a time before the internet and worldwide access to news, his father held a transistor radio to his ear with the antenna out the window, trying to hear news about a Navy accident. Eventually, the news of Patrick’s death was hand-delivered to the Corcoran house.
He said before his father died, he asked them to fly Patrick’s casket flag at least once a year. The flag was stolen while flying on July 4, 2016, but was returned about 10 days later after a social media campaign spread the news about what it was.
Asselta said his father collapsed at the news of his son Charlie’s being killed in combat. The senator was in high school at the time, and he was called out of school to be with family.
“Now you are a Gold Star Family,” Asselta said of the situation.
He said as a Gold Star mother or father, you never let go of the loss. He said his mother at 95 would say, “Nicky, it’s good you’re here. I want to go see Charlie,” referring to her son’s gravesite.
Phase I of the Gold Star Families Memorial, which also carries the name Veterans Park, was sponsored by VFW Post 5941 in partnership with Run to Remember, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Rosenello said there are two more pieces of the gateway to be completed. One is an area at the eastern end of Veterans Park just past the VFW Memorial. The property is still privately owned and, as a former gas station, requires some site remediation.
The final phase will be across the street on a triangular parcel and will include the Mid-Atlantic Police and Fire Monument, which the mayor said would probably be completed in 2026.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
