A new memorial bench installed at Captree State Park now stands as a tribute to Bay Shore Marine Charles Mandell, whose courage in Korea and decades of service to the Masonic community have inspired generations across Long Island. The Suffolk Masonic District dedicated the bench over the weekend to Mandell, a Right Worshipful Mason and highly decorated U.S. Marine veteran.
Mandell served as a private in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War, earning two Purple Hearts and carrying shrapnel to this day. He was wounded a third time but refused the Purple Heart because accepting it would have sent him home. “He didn’t want to leave his company,” said District Deputy Grand Master Robert Licata. “That’s the kind of grit he has.”
A respected leader of Babylon Lodge No. 793, Mandell has mentored “hundreds and hundreds of Masons,” Licata noted, helping shape new members for more than 40 years. The title of Right Worshipful, one of the highest distinctions in the Grand Lodge, reflects his long record of service and reputation as “the guy you want to emulate.”
The bench was installed at the Captree boat basin, next to the concession stand, where veterans and visitors can see it every day. The location was chosen strategically as part of a countywide suicide-prevention effort. “We want veterans to know they’re not alone,” Licata said. The bench bears the toll-free number for The Battle Within Foundation, a veteran-support network focused on PTSD and crisis intervention. “We still lose 22 veterans a day to suicide. This project is about awareness and hope.”
This is the ninth bench placed in Suffolk County by the Masonic War Veterans, funded entirely by brothers of the Suffolk Masonic District. Among those attending was Don Konner, Commander General of the Masonic War Veterans of New York State, and the state’s top Mason, Grand Master Steven Rubin.
Honoring Mandell, Licata said, was an easy choice. “He’s salt of the earth,” he said. “A living, breathing hero.”