On January 17, 2007,
Troopers, both active and retired, gathered to honor one of their own on the
account of his 93rd birthday.
The gathering, arranged by retired Zone/Sgt. Charles Dobbs with
assistance from retired Senior Investigator Ray Salvie,
honored Joseph J. Benenati at the New York State
Veteran’s Home in Oxford, NY. Joe entered the Division in 1936, coincidentally
with Charlie’s brother, William Dobbs, Jr., who was killed in the line of duty
on August 27, 1939.
Joe proudly served his country during World War II and was a
veteran of the Battle of Iwo Jima. His military honors included the Bronze Star.
Joe resigned from the State Police with the rank of Sergeant
– BCI, in August 1960 to assume the position of Chenango
County Sheriff which he held until his retirement in 1981.
Troop C Commander, Major Kevin Molinari
presented a retirement ID card to Joe and read a proclamation from
Superintendent Wayne Bennett highlighting Joe’s law enforcement and military
career. In addition to the ID card, Joe
was presented with a retirement shield from the Troopers PBA, with his shield
number of “C17” on it. The presentation
of the shield was to correct the fact that Joe never received one when he left
the Division almost 47 years ago.
Also present at this function were Insp. Tom Kelly (Ret.,
now the head of security at Hartwick
College), Capt. Mark Lester, Lt.
Bob Galletto, First Sergeant Steve Yurenda, Tpr. Nelson Torres, PBA
C Troop Delegate Ed Kiluk and PBA First Vice
President Tom Mungeer.
PHOTO CAPTION: Front: Sgt. Joseph Benenati
(Ret.)
Back: First VP Tom Mungeer,
Troop C Delegate Ed Kiluk, Zone/Sgt. Charlie Dobbs
(Ret.), Insp. Tom Kelly (Ret.), Major Kevin Molinari,
Lt. Bob Galletto, Capt. Mark Lester, F/Sgt. Steve Yurenda