JOHN SOLIMAN, DMD, MD - ALAINA HARRINGTON, DMD, MD - DANIEL WINSTON, DDS - RADISLAV MEYLIKH, DDS
Step behind the scenes with the man who helped bring the heart-pounding thriller “Jaws” to life. 22 The Boys of Summer
Reflecting on her husband’s time in the Vietnam war, writer Susan King shares a story of grit, hope and friendship rooted at the Shore.
Spring Lake Honors Sister Carole
Selecting the perfect outdoor furniture
Mike King and Larry Devine on the Shore.
Photograph by Christina Lilly.
Denise Dreyer
Denise Dreyer
Denise Dreyer
Dreyer
WTHE JOYS OF MAY
WE MADE IT! The anticipation of warmer temperatures and ocean swims is strong. It’s a busy time for all as we wrap up the school year and prepare our homes and gardens for the summer.
Mother’s Day weekend is the perfect time to gather with family, get your hands dirty in the garden and support our wonderful local shops; whether for gifts, pastries or a well-deserved meal that mom didn’t have to cook! To all the moms and motherly figures, I send my warmest wishes for a
fantastic Mother’s Day.
The Spring Lake Five is the true beacon of summer. This epic weekend, filled with tradition, sport, family, friends and (hopefully) sunshine, signals the start of the season. The beaches open, the crowds return and our beautiful community comes alive with energy and camaraderie.
This month’s cover celebrates two local heroes who once stood guard over our beaches before serving together in the Vietnam War— looking out for each other through the harsh realities of combat. Special thanks to writer Susan King for sharing this story with us.
We are always open to telling your stories, please reach out to us at editorial@springlakemagazine.com.
As Memorial Day weekend approaches, we’ve mapped out the best ways to commemorate and celebrate, ensuring a meaningful and memorable start to summer. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for the 44th Annual Spring Lake Historical Society House Tour on June 5—a wonderful opportunity to explore the homes and stories that have shaped our beloved town. Ticket info can be purchased at Kate & Company, Bain’s Hardware and J. McLaughlin.
Wishing you a joyful and sun-filled May!
Brynn Coleman Publisher
Spring Lake MAGAZINE
Publisher & Editor
Brynn Coleman
Editorial Coordinator & Lead Writer
Danielle Kutcher
Lead Photographer
Christina Lilly
Writers
Susan King
Chris Baldi
Photographers
Michael Scotto
Vincent Dicks
Danielle Kutcher
WAINSCOT MEDIA
Chairman
Carroll V. Dowden
President and CEO
Mark Dowden
VP, Group Publisher, Regional
Thomas Flannery
VP, Content Strategy
Maria Regan
Creative Director
Kijoo Kim
Art Director
Rosemary O’Connell
Associate Editor
Sophia Carlisle
Advertising Services Director
Jacquelynn Fischer
Operations Director
Catherine Rosario
Production Designer
Chris Ferrante
Print Production Manager
Fern Meshulam
Advertising Production Associate
Griff Dowden
Spring Lake magazine is published by Wainscot Media. Serving residents of Spring Lake and Sea Girt, the magazine is distributed monthly via U.S. mail. Articles and advertisements contained herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publishers. Copyright 2025 by Wainscot Media LLC. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written consent.
Memorial Day Weekend 2025
Spring Lake and Sea Girt come alive on Memorial Day Weekend! Here’s a day-by-day look at the events you won’t want to miss.
BY DANIELLE KUTCHER
MEMORIAL DAY Weekend signals the unofficial start of summer at the Jersey Shore, bringing a buzz of excitement as the beaches of Spring Lake and Sea Girt open for the season. Weather permitting, the beaches will have lifeguards present from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Both towns host events that get the whole community eager for the fun and festivities to come.
Friday, May 23
Spring Lake Kids Run
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Start line begins at Ocean and Atlantic Avenues.
Saturday, May 24
Come to town to support the over 12,000 runners at the Spring Lake 5!
When: 8:30 a.m.
Where: Start line at Ocean & Sussex Avenues.
For more information, go to springlake5.org.
Spring Lake Beer Garden
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Downtown business district, Jersey and Third Avenue.
Last beer served at 3:30 p.m.
The Spring Lake Memorial Day Parade
When: 10:30 a.m.
Where: Begins at H.W. Mountz School, proceeds along Third Avenue and concludes with a ceremony at the Monument at Fifth Avenue and Passaic Avenue at 11 a.m.
Cornhole Tournament hosted by the Greater Spring Lake Chamber of Commerce
When: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m
Where: The Shore Club, 700 Route 71, Spring Lake.
For more information and to register, go to springlakechamber.org.
Saturday and Sunday, May 24 and May 25
Spring Lake Sidewalk Sales
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Rain dates: May 31 & June 1)
Enjoy the sidewalk sale at Jersey and Third Avenues.
Monday, May 26
Sea Girt Memorial Day Parade
When: 8:30 a.m.
Where: Begins at The Sea Girt Elementary School parking lot at 451 Bell Place, Sea Girt and goes down the Washington Block, west on Boston Boulevard and ends at the Plaza.
“The Spring Lake Dog Beach is a magical place! It’s one of those simple yet profound experiences that remind us how wonderful life can be. There’s something incredibly uplifting about sharing these moments—watching Moose and Charlie frolic by the ocean, meeting fellow dog lovers. It is the perfect blend of freedom, community and natural beauty for both humans and their four-legged friends. Smiles and wagging tails, what could be better?”
- Bill Damors, a dog beach regular
PHOTOGRAPHS
Opposite page: Bill Damora, with Moose and Charlie, leave the dog beach after an afternoon of frolicking and fun at the Spring Lake dog beach.
This page, top: Hobie is a therapy dog who loves his play time at the Spring Lake dog beach.
Middle: Fiona, an English Cream Golden Retriever, thoroughly enjoys everything the dog beach has to offer.
Bottom left: Nori, a Bouvier des Flandres Belgian herding dog, loves running and playing in the sand and surf at the beach.
Bottom right: All pups and their owners are expected to adhere to the posted dog beach rules to ensure a fun time is had by all.
Spring Lake’s DOG BEACH
These pups and their people have tail-wagging adventures at this Spring Lake beach, designed for pups and their people.
BY DANIELLE KUTCHER
TAKE A STROLL DOWN to the corner of Pitney and Ocean Avenues in Spring Lake, and you’ll find four-legged friends happily playing in the sand and surf at the dog beach. Dogs thrive on fresh air and socialization, and what better place to enjoy both than this seaside haven?
Socializing at the dog beach offers numerous benefits for both dogs and their owners. Dogs can learn proper social cues, develop
better cognitive skills by keeping their minds active and bond with other dogs. They can also burn off energy by swimming in the ocean or running in the sand, leading to overall better physical health.
Dogs that visit the dog beach with their owners can run free with other furry friends, while their owners connect and build a sense of community. Owners can also benefit by watching their dogs interact and play, which can be both relaxing and enjoyable.
The dog beach is fully open from Sept. 30 to May 15 during the off season. In the peak summer months, dogs are not allowed on the beach except for a fenced area near Pitney Avenue, which is accessible from sunrise to 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. to sunset. All dogs and visitors must follow the posted rules and regulations.
Danielle Kutcher is a local mom of three and a retired elementary school teacher. She enjoys theatre, reading and going on adventures with her family.
Beyond the Smile
Investing in health, not just dentistry, at Smile Studio of Spring Lake.
BY MARCELLA XYLOPORTAS
DR. ROBERT SCHEDDIN wants you to live a long and healthy life. That’s why he and his team at Smile Studio of Spring Lake prioritize your well-being above all else, even your smile.
As the seasons change, it’s a perfect time to reflect on our health and wellness. While many prioritize diet and exercise, one crucial aspect often overlooked is dental health and its link to various systemic conditions. Research has shown that poor oral hygiene can lead to serious health issues, including heart disease, diabetes and respiratory infections. Bacteria from gum disease can enter the bloodstream, causing inflammation and contributing to these chronic conditions. Staying ahead of these challenges with the use of technological advancements and patient education contributes to better health outcomes.
After excelling in his field of dentistry and gaining invaluable experience under top mentors in New York City, practice owner Dr. Robert Scheddin made the decision to return to his roots; dedicating his expertise to the community where he grew up.
For Dr. Rob, the quality and personal connections to his patients and their overall health is his top priority. He is committed to being a cornerstone of the Spring Lake community and advocating for quality care for his patients. He and his esteemed team have redefined the approach to dentistry, providing not only care for teeth but overall wellness.
The office utilizes state-of-the-art, innovative technology to provide the highest standard of care and diagnostics. The VELscope is a noninvasive tool for early detection of oral cancer. This proactive method has been life saving for many patients, allowing for early detection and timely intervention. With more than 54,000 new cases of oral cancer in the U.S. each year, it is vital to raise awareness on the importance of regular screenings.
An in-office CBCT Scanner delivers detailed 3D imaging, allowing for unparalleled accuracy in detection of gum disease and treatment planning. The practice’s Intraoral Scanner provides clear digital images that are shared with patients to better educate them and facilitate collaboration in treatment planning. Informed patients
are empowered to make better choices regarding their health. During visits, the team takes the time to explain procedures, answer questions and provide guidance on maintaining optimal oral hygiene.
Dr. Scheddin and the Smile Studio of Spring Lake family encourage you to take the first step toward a healthier, brighter future. Your smile is an essential part of your life—but your health is the greatest investment you will ever make. Visit us at smilestudiospringlake.com; 1109 3rd Ave. Spring Lake, New Jersey 07762.
To book an appointment call (732) 974-2288.
Spring Lake Honors Sister Carole
The beloved educator and community leader has been named Spring Lake’s Citizen of the Year.
BY DANIELLE KUTCHER
INTERVIEW WITH SISTER CAROLE MACKENTHUN
SPRING LAKE HAS CHOSEN their Citizen of the Year for 2025, and it is none other than Sister Carole MacKenthun! Known for her decades of dedication to local students and her unwavering commitment to service, she has left a lasting impact on generations. The award recognizes her tireless efforts in education, mentorship and community outreach.
How long have you been teaching, and what do you teach?
I have been teaching since 1968 after I graduated from Georgian Court University. I have taught Religion and Language Arts in grades 3 to 8. Now, at St. Catharine School, I rotate around Pre-K to grade 8 preparing them for masses and prayer services and bringing them to chapel for prayer and meditation time.
Why did you start doing meditation with your students, and what impact has it had on them?
I started to use meditation as a form of prayer myself. When I started to include this in my teaching, I noticed the students loved it, and it relaxed them. I would tell them: “We are going to take an interior journey to our ‘Heart Room’ where only God dwells, and we can tell
moment of faith and new beginnings with
Him anything we wish to share with Him.” Many students return to me and never forget their “Heart Room.” It calms them, and they even teach their parents the techniques.
What values do you hope to instill in your students?
Faith, kindness, compassion, tolerance, joy, hope, gratitude and love of learning.
What inspired you to become a teacher and what keeps you passionate about it?
I was inspired by the Religious Sisters who taught me in elementary school. I knew as a child in second grade that I wanted to be a Religious Sister and a teacher. The children keep me passionate about continuing to teach
all these years. I love being with them and they give me constant joy. I learn a lot from them also. I always believed that each teacher is a learner, and each child is a teacher.
You clearly are making a difference in the lives of students and the Spring Lake community. What does that mean to you? It is the greatest gift that I could ever receive. It means the world to me! It is with gratitude that I know I have touched so many lives.
What does the Spring Lake community mean to you? What makes it special?
The experience of community has always been a part of my life as a Sister of Mercy. Being involved is a wonderful experience. I connect and share with
so many people and have so many friends. Spring Lake is a welcoming, friendly community, and I feel so much a part of it. I am blessed to have been here for 30 years!
How do you see your role as an educator shaping the future of the community?
My role as an educator is to witness and teach important values to help build a loving community. Every positive encounter with a child causes a ripple effect that is lasting and continues onward to the next generation. I also believe that each child has a talent and gift that has to be nourished by a teacher. It takes time, patience and positive comments to bring forth the gift.
Opposite page, top: Sister Carole enjoys quality time with her beloved cat, Boots. Bottom: Sister Carole celebrating a
students who were just baptized. This page: Sister Carole, Father Damian and Mrs. White touring the recently renovated St. Margaret Church during Journeys with Sister Carole Summer Camp.
WE LOVE SISTER CAROLE!
MRS. DONNA WHITE, principal at St. Catharine School
Those of us who are blessed to know Sister Carole have a living example of someone who loves like Jesus. In her everyday interactions, Sister Carole is warm, gentle and always eager to help. Everyone who meets her finds an instant friend, greeted with a warm smile and a witty sense of humor, complete with her love of puns and cat memes.
Her long-standing mission to assist St. Kizito’s in Uganda may be her best-known work, but her daily contributions are just as significant. She is everyone’s favorite resource for spiritual counseling, prayers, scapulars, Mass cards and rosaries. Her Thursday prayer groups are welcoming spaces for participants ranging from 5 to 90 years old. Whether we are joyful or sad, she shares in our emotions, offering comfort and support. We are beyond grateful to have her as an example of God’s love and are excited to celebrate her well-deserved recognition as Citizen of the Year.
GIOVANNA, fourth grade student at St. Catharine School
Sister Carole is a kind and caring teacher who has always been there for our family. We also share a love of cats, which makes her even more special to me!
HOLLY O’BRIEN, former St. Catharine School parent
My friendship with Sister Carole started 15 years ago, as a parent of a St. Catharine student. My daughter Fiona and I regularly attended her prayer group on Thursdays after school. She greeted every student and guest with her radiant smile. Our friendship continued after my daughter graduated from SCS, both at weekly mass and as the former owners of Spring Lake Pizza. My husband Barry honored her with the “Sister Carole Pizza.” Now I am a colleague of hers at St. Catharine School, where I witness the love and respect everyone has for her. The world is a better place with Sister Carole MacKenthun in it.
Top: Sister Carole and Father Damian during Journeys with Sister Carole Summer Camp. Bottom: Sister Carole reading to the children in the Saint Catharine School Pre-K3 class.
What is the Mission of Mercy that you have formed?
When I was in eighth grade, a Maryknoll Sister visited our school and inspired me to want to help the poor. Many years later, Bishop Smith from the Diocese of Trenton had become friends with Bishop Cyprian in Uganda. They needed volunteers, and I accepted. I went for 12 years in the summers with volunteers. I continue yearly at St. Catharine School and Parish to collect funds to feed 1,000 students and provide tuition
assistance. Many donors help me. The Brian and Joelle Kelly Foundation have built a dream in the bush area of Lwetunga, Uganda, where my adopted school is.
To learn more about Mission of Mercy, follow Mission of Mercy Uganda (MoMU) on Facebook.
What is one small action to help the community that anyone can take? Smile; it brightens someone’s day. Listen when someone is sharing. Fill someone’s heart today with kindness.
What are some things that you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I enjoy playing the guitar at Masses with Billy Lawlor and the Salem Street Band in the summer in the schoolyard of St. Catharine’s. I also love cats and feed three of them in the yard of the convent even after it closed, and I moved to the Arbors! I try to find homes for homeless cats!
Danielle Kutcher is a local mom of three and a retired elementary school teacher. She enjoys theatre, reading and going on adventures with her family.
Sister Carole and the members of her Thursday Prayer Group.
Carl Gottlieb Getting Chummy With
Just when you thought it was safe, we sat down with the legendary screenwriter behind the original summer blockbuster.
BY CHRISTOPHER BALDI
TTHE SUMMER MARKS the 50th anniversary of “Jaws,” the classic blockbuster partly inspired by the infamous 1916 Jersey Shore shark attacks. In recognition of the milestone, we sat down with Carl Gottlieb, the screenwriter who steered the script through a famously troubled production and helped deliver one of the most celebrated and iconic movies of all time.
Let’s begin with how you first came onboard, so to speak. In 1974, you were working as a story editor on “The Odd Couple” sitcom, and the novel “Jaws” had just been released. Once Steven Spielberg signed on to direct the film, how did you get involved? Steven and I were friendly, and I had worked with him before, both as an actor and a writer. He sent me [an early draft of] the script and said, ‘Find a part in there for yourself.’ I looked it over, and I thought Meadows was a decent part. I think I took one meeting at Universal casting, and they said, “yeah, sure.” So I got the part first, but by the time we got to the location [Martha’s Vineyard] and started filming, I had also begun work on a new draft.
Were you tempted to tell Spielberg you wanted to play Brody? [Chuckles]. No, I knew my limitations. I never dreamt of asking for a bigger part.
When Spielberg first sent you the script, you told him that it was “almost there.” What exactly did you mean by that? There was a script there, but it wasn’t great yet. I said, if we do our jobs right, audiences will feel about going in the ocean the same way they felt about taking a shower after ‘Psycho.’ And that turned out to be true. Even today, if somebody finds out that I had anything to do with ‘Jaws,’ the first thing they say is, ‘When I saw that movie, I didn’t go in the water for months!’ And I have to pretend that I’ve never heard that before.
The film’s three stars (Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss) weren’t cast until just a few weeks before production. You were the one who first approached Richard Dreyfuss, who originally hated the script. How did you convince an actor who hated the script to take a leading role in a production that
was only three weeks away?
I basically had to say, ‘trust me.’ Ricky had been dismissive of the script because he said, ‘This is a movie I’d rather see than be in.’
I tracked him down in New York and I said, ‘Just come up to Boston and meet Steven and give him a fair shot.’ Once Dreyfuss actually sat down with Steven, they had a chemistry.
And when he walked into that first meeting, he was wearing pretty much the same thing he wore in the movie. He had the scruffy beard and the watch cap and the rimless glasses. Steven took one look at him and said, ‘Don’t change a thing!’
In your book “The Jaws Log,” you describe having big dinners at the end of production days, during which the entire cast and crew would have creative discussions while you were taking notes on a steno pad. Those conversations must have been incredible. Do you still have any of the notes from those dinners? Yes. I anticipated that there would be an arbitration over the screen credit, so I saved my notes and every draft of the script. As it turned out, [producers]
Zanuck and Brown gave me the credit anyway, and I shared the screenplay credit with [the original novelist] Peter Benchley, who had written the first draft.
It’s been reported that Benchley didn’t have much faith in Spielberg, at least in the beginning.
He had been dismissive of Steven at first; Steven was only about 27 at the time. But when [Benchley] came to the Vineyard and realized how hard we were working, and how we were only trying to do justice to the story, he came around. He eventually took a small part in the movie as a way to give it his blessing.
Let’s talk about the actual production. Many fans know the backstory by now; the shark was a mechanical nightmare that began malfunctioning as soon as it was immersed in saltwater. How much of that pressure fell on you to write around those production problems?
Well, essentially that was what I had signed up for. That was my job, to make it work somehow. It became a real exercise in practical filmmaking. And
Opposite page: Carl Gottlieb in 2015. PHOTOGRAPH BY DANIELA WOOD.
Left: Roy Scheider, Murray Hamilton and Carl Gottlieb in the original “Jaws.” Gottlieb was originally hired as an actor to play the role of Meadows, but was simultaneously tasked with rewriting the script while the film was actively in production.
FILM STILL COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES.
Spielberg had a preternatural ability to see things through a filmic eye, even back then. This was before ‘Close Encounters,’ before ‘Schindler’s List,’ long before the whole Spielberg oeuvre, but he already had that preternatural ability.
Can you recall the first time you heard the iconic John Williams score?
I heard it as it was being recorded and in post. I had been working closely with [editor] Verna Fields. She cut the movie in her garage and in her bedroom.
Can you describe the experience of seeing the film with an audience for the first time?
There was a paid preview, and Spielberg and the producers and I were kind of pacing and watching. And when the movie ended and the credits
started, there was a beat of silence, and we wondered if [the audience] was going to applaud. But then of course, the applause was deafening. And then there was a rush for the bathrooms, because everybody had been holding it in for the last hour.
“Jaws” hit theaters in June 1975 and quickly broke box office records. How did the movie change your life? Well, there’s a weird phenomenon in Hollywood. It’s almost like a superstition. Everybody connected with a hit acquires some of that patina of that movie’s success. And when you’re applying for a job on another show, whether you want to be a driver or a grip or a gaffer, and the production manager asks about your experience and you say ‘Well, I worked on Jaws,’ that production manager assumes that somehow
you know something about making a blockbuster that nobody else knows.
‘Jaws’ was in every way an oldfashioned studio picture, but when it started breaking records, all of a sudden, I was seen as a better writer.
I imagine that you got recognized a lot. You were not only the screenwriter, but the sixth-billed actor in the film. [Chuckles]. Not nearly as much as Roy Scheider.
Many people have called “Jaws” a perfect movie. But as you write in your book, “Once you know where the fluff is, it never fails to jump off the screen.”
Do you still see the fluff in “Jaws?”
Oh sure. Every time they cut to the close-up of Brody typing the report. It was the prop man who printed up the stationary for that scene. It’s supposed to say ‘coroner’s’ office, but it actually
Summer 1975: Jaws became the first film to ever make $100 million at the American box office.
Gottlieb’s book “The Jaws Log” has been lauded by fans and filmmakers alike. “Jaws” screenings are still a summer tradition across the Jersey Shore.
says ‘corner’s office,’ and it always jumps off the screen at me.
Also, Ricky Dreyfuss could never pronounce “Carcharodon Carcharias” correctly, so he had to be looped (re-recorded) separately saying those two words, and Verna had to drop it in to make it sound normal. If you’re studying the film frame by frame, you can see that he’s not truly in sync.
Do you have a favorite moment, or a scene that you’re most proud of?
I particularly like the moment when Mrs. Kintner slaps Brody. I think the actress really pulls it off.
“Jaws 2” also has a lot of fans and was one of the biggest hits of 1978. How was that experience?
[The studio] originally offered me ‘Jaws 2’ at scale, which I thought was a little insulting, since I had been partly responsible for their biggest hit of all time. My agent said, ‘They’ll be back, and it will cost them.’
Sure enough, they started ‘Jaws 2’ without me. But once the dailies came in, they ended up canning the director and his wife who had written the script, because it was obvious that they were in over their heads. And the studio said, ‘Gottlieb, can you come on in and fix this?’ And my agent’s original prediction turned out to be correct. It cost them.
“Jaws” has become an annual tradition at the Jersey Shore, with screenings on the beach every summer. When’s the last time you saw the movie with a crowd? Within the last year or so. I had a screening down in Jersey not long ago. At a lot of screenings, I
tend to hang out in the lobby. But I usually sneak in the back door and stick around until Ben Gardner’s head appears. It’s a great movie to watch with an audience because the audience gets so fully invested. There’s no boredom, no coughing, no candy wrappers.
For a lot of us, it’s a movie that you can’t turn off—even if you’ve seen it a hundred times—if you happen to catch it while flipping channels. Does it have the same effect on you?
Oh sure. It’s the same as ‘The Godfather.’ If I come across ‘The Godfather,’ any hour, day or night, I say to myself, ‘I’ll just watch until Sonny gets shot on the Causeway.’ And an hour later...end credits. ‘Jaws’ is the same way; I think it still works.
Carl Gottlieb’s book “The Jaws Log” is available from Dey Street Books.
Christopher Baldi is the editor of Manasquan + Brielle Magazine.
SUMMER BOYS OF
Three Jersey boys, one distant war: The power of friendship in Vietnam.
BY SUSAN KING
WWALKING THE BOARDS along the Jersey Shore after a lifetime of experiences, jobs, travel, friends and accomplishments seems to bring my husband, Mike, to an old destination and time. His thoughts journey back to his summers as a lifeguard at Pier Beach, Spring Lake. He was strong and tan with zinc oxide on his nose. He spent his days surveying the horizon for anyone in need of help in the surf. That sense of being a protector has never left him. Summers as a lifeguard were followed by college graduation, the draft, OCS and commission as a Second Lieutenant in Uncle Sam’s Army.
He wasn’t the only lifeguard to head for that troubled war. The boys of summer became the Vets of Vietnam—and their story of duty, camaraderie, values and service have rarely been told properly, simply overshadowed by stories of loss and self-destruction.
No longer a tanned, cocky hunk who scanned the surf for any swimmer in need, Mike is the man who was shaped by summers along the ocean. He is the man who faced death and fear in the jungles of a war neither he nor his fellow soldiers understood.
I’ve been fascinated at how much Mike has talked about
Opposite page, bottom, left to right: Larry Devine, Ray Schrader and Mike King outside MIke’s office in NahTrang where he was stationed after being wounded and leaving the jungle. Right: Mike wrote almost everyday from Vietnam to his then girlfriend about what his days were like. Sometimes the onion skin paper was stained with red dust.
escapades of his teenage years and about Vietnam since we moved back home to the Jersey Shore, to Brielle, New Jersey. As we drive to the grocery store, to dinner out with friends or for boardwalk beach walks, he points out places that were.
“That was Patty’s house,” or “the Carmody family lived there,” or “that gin mill used to be Crine’s where we went all the time.” After more than fifty years saying little, Mike also started talking about Vietnam regularly. He shows me pictures on Facebook posted by men of his company who live across the country and who are also remembering.
STORIES INSIDE RED, CLAY-STAINED ENVELOPES
I have boxes of a lifetime that I’ve moved from state to state. Recently, I decided it was time to take out Mike’s Vietnam letters and discover the stories that have made us who we are.
I’ve read more than a year’s worth of letters from Vietnam and now see clearly the man Mike became in the face of death. I’d forgotten that time and the color of fear he wrote about so vividly and the maturity he had to possess to lead others into firefights and search and destroy missions. In his neat Catholic school penmanship, on paper often stained by the red clay of Vietnam, he wrote in detail about what he was doing, his pride and his frustrations.
26 May 1969 (written 2 days after arriving in Vietnam)
“Around here there is no bullshit. You either do the job or go home in a plastic bag.”
“Tomorrow, I go out to Fire base Penny. Today Penny was attacked. Reality has struck home. Only the strong survive. It’s a fact…I seem to have a knot that is continually getting
tighter in my stomach. I think fear is the prime emotion that keeps you alive.”
Most of the letters reflect the sheer drudgery of infantry life. Working and sleeping in the rain. Patrolling small areas over and over again. No front line. No clear idea of what a win is. Wet uniforms, wet socks, bad food, little sleep.
11 June ‘69
“It’s funny you get to know the area— you know the trails, the streams, even the habits of the animals. Then you leave.”
Mike quickly found, on the ground in Vietnam, the emptiness of the political arguments for a war the U.S. public didn’t support.
13 June ‘69
“The more time I spend in the country, the firmer my conviction grows that
the U.S. should pack their bags and make it back to home soil. We made a mistake. Let’s admit to it…Thank God I know that the most time I can spend here is a year. Knowing that gives you that little added push that moves you ahead even when you are near collapse.”
ONE SOLDIER’S MISSION: HIS MEN
Mike didn’t write about drugs or personal tensions between soldiers or anti-war arguments that disrupted his focus. Mike led Ivy League grads, farmers and high school dropouts. Young men from all over the country. I could see his respect for them all and I discovered a young man of empathy and some humor determined to be a leader.
1 July ‘69
“I’ve given up the hope that I’ll ever again be clean. Still haven’t taken a shower— still haven’t changed my clothes. War is Hell!
To be a platoon leader is a lonely life. It’s bad, hard and yet it can be rewarding if you do the job well. To do the job well, comfort for yourself is out! You have to exist for your men. I’ve seen too many platoon leaders who don’t give a shit. They think that if they let their men get away with things—dope, booze etc., they are helping them. All this does is decrease the effectiveness of the platoon. It gives them a false sense of security and over here that’s exactly what you don’t need. A false sense of security gets people killed.”
I’ve found the story of Mike’s personal Vietnam leadership tests that seem
central to his development as a man and as a lawyer turned professor. The lessons he embraced in the army are the ones he teaches to law and graduate students today. Most of the students he teaches are now in their twenties like he was when he became a leader of men.
12 July ‘69. 10 p.m.
“Here I sit at Wolly Bully expecting a ground and rocket attack. Earlier this evening we got word that Alpha Company 3rd/10th inf. had captured a prisoner who gave them the information. Tonight, I got word from the Commanding General that I was to employ my small organic 81mm
mortar unexpectedly…If we get hit, it’s going to be one hell of a firefight. I’m praying that we don’t. If it’s a ground attack, we should be in good shape defensively. If rockets—my shit is flaky. There is no way you can defend against them...The tension around here tonight is high. I’m scared, and yet I don’t think I show it.”
He didn’t buy the mission or the strategy of the generals’ executing the Vietnam war. Yet, he led with his personal sense of duty toward his men. Keeping the men in his platoon alive was Mike’s mission.
JERSEY SHORE FRIENDSHIPS
I’ve also found some sweet moments of my husband’s youth and the story of Jersey Shore friendships that stretch from the beaches and bars of Spring Lake to beaches and bars in Vietnam.
I’ve discovered the bonds of friendship that shaped the optimistic man I’ve been married to for more than 50 years. Mike wasn’t just a soldier in Vietnam, he was also one of the boys of summer who faced fear and death and who looked out for each other. There were other Jersey Shore boys, other lifeguards in Vietnam at the same time and the country was small enough for them to find each other. There was Ray Schrader and Larry Devine.
Top: When Mike got back to Spring Lake after a year in Vietnam, his youngest sister Bibiana, the 15th King child, didn’t know who he was. Far left: Mike with his mother Ottilie in his Spring Lake living room. Left: Larry Devine in Vietnam in 1969.
I read Mike’s tales of meeting up with Larry when Ray; a helicopter pilot found them both and created a reunion of normalcy in the chaos of endless search and destroy missions.
8 July ‘69
“Got a call on the horn. ‘23(my call sign) There is a bird enroute to your location—a friend on board.’
I can’t believe it. Who the hell is coming out to see me. I wait, the bird lands—out steps Larry Devine and the pilot Ray Schrader, an idiot friend of mine. It was a great reunion.
Managed to get some nice wine—it was quite a party. Larry was on his way back from Ben Het where he hooked up with Ray at Pleiku. They knew I was in the area and took off to find me. I’m sure glad they did.”
Ray Schrader was taller than both Larry and Mike and the kind of man who could make a dull evening one to remember. In his twenties, he had a perpetual dude’s smile that welcomed any newcomer to the group, and yet, he wore a surprising protective aura of maturity. Whether you jumped in his “bird” in Vietnam or his car in Manasquan for a pizza at Squan Tavern, you knew you were in safe hands. That protective personality made him a successful pilot in Vietnam. Everyone believed he would make it through the firefights and missile attacks.
Ray detoured to the hospital where Mike was treated after he was wounded in the field. Mike was dusted off with a severe wound from a punji stick—the deadly Vietnamese weapon of war. Ray didn’t trust that the field hospital would take care of Mike and so he paid a visit to check up on him. Mike wrote me after his delirium subsided and the threat of lethal poison was past: “Same old Ray. If you’re his friend he would travel to the ends of the earth to see you,” he wrote.
Ray came back to the Jersey Shore after Vietnam and built a company,
Shrader Yacht Sales, in Point Pleasant. He created a powerful world with his smile and commitment to community and family. He died in 2014 before Mike and I moved back and had the chance to laugh with him.
Larry Devine is a different story.
Mike and Larry sat next to each other on the long plane ride home from Vietnam. They were then assigned to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where they taught cadets some of the lessons of war that were fresh in their minds.
Larry met his wife Cassie at Mike’s welcome home party in Spring Lake when Mike introduced them. Larry knew that night he would marry her. Larry made Spring Lake Heights home and raised his growing family along the same ocean where he grew up. His four children also put down roots and
built successful businesses along the Jersey shore. Larry’s grandchildren now number an even dozen.
LIFEGUARDS’ SENSE OF DUTY
Larry Devine and Mike think of themselves still as the guardians of Pier Beach in Spring Lake, strong enough to swim the waves and save kids pulled out to sea by the riptides.
That sense of duty, that ethic of a lifeguard to respond to someone in trouble without worrying about yourself, pulled them through one long, uncertain year in the army away from endless days of sun and carefree thoughts of tomorrow.
I’ve watched Larry and Mike sitting together at Spring Lake’s Memorial Day gathering for the past few years, both white haired now and proud. They are recognized and celebrated. They are
older veterans in the town where they grew up and, in their minds, they are still the boys of the summer.
Yet, Vietnam has followed them both.
AGENT ORANGE:
THE VIETNAM LEGACY
Larry defies death today as he did in this 20s, leaving the hospital after three months in a coma from a case of Guillain-Barre’ Syndrome. His large
family surrounded his bed throughout the long days of “sleep” and few thought Larry would ever walk out of the hospital. He did.
Larry spent a long career with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, first processing veterans’ claims. He later served as director of VA’s New York Office of Public Affairs coordinating internal and external information programs for veterans. No one in
government wanted to focus on what these young men of the 1960s and 1970s faced in the jungles of Vietnam and what they brought home with them. The implications were too expensive. The realities are all too present now.
Mike too has had diagnoses that appear in augmented numbers of Vietnam veterans: prostate cancer, type 2 diabetes and other odd aches and pains. Despite it all, the two who partied carefree at the shore in their 20s and who rendezvoused in places like Nha Trang and Pleiku, Vietnam, can smile and laugh together at new hangouts along the shore these decades later. Mike and Larry spent the last few years ringing in the New Year together. Today, they are survivors in their 70s who defy their ailments and can snicker together that agent orange is the gift that keeps giving.
If both Mike and Larry have myriad medical issues that show up in higher numbers among veterans than in the general population, they also possess an attitude of strength and a deep reservoir of manhood that is their north star. They are not men who greedily grasp for themselves; they are men for the other. They led men in war, felt the bond of combat and were forever shaped by the experience of standing for an ideal of America they believed in.
They still believe in America—with all its warts. Vietnam and the beaches of New Jersey had a hand in shaping the men they are.
Susan King dreamed of becoming a journalist when she first visited Spring Lake and attended the Lifeguard’s Ball in the 1960s. She was a broadcaster for 20 years in Washington DC covering the nation’s capital. She moved to the Jersey Shore after a decade as dean of UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Who says dreams don’t come true!
Larry Devine kept his Spring Lake Lifeguard’s jacket as a memento of great summers past. Almost 60 years old, the jacket looks new and still fits!
Liz, Leo and Jack Clark. The Clark family has been serving the Jersey Shore for over 25 years!
FROM SHOWROOM TO BACKYARD: Selecting the Perfect Outdoor Furniture
Thoughtfully chosen furniture sets the tone for this outdoor space.
BY ELIZABETH CLARK
RECENTLY, JACK CLARK, head operations and sales representative at Fitness Lifestyles, collaborated with homeowners to transform their outdoor space. When curating outdoor furniture, we believe it’s essential to go beyond aesthetics and focus on how each piece enhances the overall experience.
Fitness Lifestyles offers a wide range of collections in our 10,000-square-foot showroom, so customers can purchase items off the floor or get inspiration for custom projects to work with their space. With this project, we aimed to create an environment that encourages relaxation and conversation while maintaining a timeless, low-maintenance appeal.
FIRE PIT
In a backyard lies a stunning fire pit featuring four Marine Grade Polymer chat chairs. These deep-seated chairs are available at Fitness Lifestyles, and Jack and the client customized the white frames and heathered walnut slats to fit their backyard space perfectly. The warm wood-like look of the slats adds an element of coziness without requiring
the upkeep typically associated with outdoor dark wood furniture.
DINING
Moving into the dining area, we selected an eight-seat dining table that matches the fire pit seating for this client
Surrounding the table are comfortable dining chairs for long meals where food, drinks and conversation flow. This space was designed to be a gathering place— a spot where family and friends can create memories over great meals and laughter. This set is by Seaside Casual, manufactured in Rhode Island, and the best on this MHP market. It’s also floored on the Fitness Lifestyles showroom in Neptune.
PORCH
Transitioning to the porch, we opted for deep seating with Sundrella cushions in the color cast breeze. These deep seating pieces were on display at Fitness Lifestyles and were also customized by Jack and the homeowners in the frame and cushion color for a coastal
and vibrant appeal. Whether enjoying a morning coffee or unwinding in the evening, this area is a haven of relaxation that blends indoor comfort with the beauty of outdoor living.
POOL
Finally, by the pool, we placed sleek sling chaise lounges by Jensen Outdoor. With their ergonomic design and inviting appeal, these lounges are perfect for basking in the sun and feeling connected to the pool party.
Each piece of furniture was chosen not just for its aesthetics but for the experience it creates. From fireside chats to poolside lounging, every detail was carefully considered to make this outdoor oasis both beautiful and functional for the client.
Elizabeth and Jack Clark, siblings and managers at Fitness Lifestyles, specialize in outdoor furniture solutions that elevate the way people experience their outdoor spaces. The Fitness Lifestyles showroom offers in-stock furniture for purchase and customizable orders, located at 37 Route 35, Neptune, New Jersey. Free in-home consultations available.
