Dick Carroll , 93 , tells stories about his career on the job with Hoboken Local 2 .
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Hoboken Local 2 member Dick Carroll sits at his desk in the credit union , which he started in 1952 .
“ I would have to say Dick is the oldest PBA member in the state . Or at least one of them ,” Hoboken Local 2 State Delegate Mark Aurigemma suggests .
“ Paris Capizzi might be older by a few months ,” Jim Behrens responds from across the credit union office , where the former Local 2 President from 1979 also works . “ I can ’ t think of anybody else in the state .”
The deliberation of names and ages continues between the group of active and retired Local 2 members gathered around Carroll ’ s desk . Local 2 President Marc Marsi also joins in , trying to think back far enough to find somebody , anybody , whose veteran status could surpass Carroll ’ s .
Banter continues with no definitive answer . But sitting there , reminiscing about when Carroll became the first PBA trustee on what eventually became the Police and Fire Retirement System ( PFRS ) board , and remembering his seven years of service on the first State Police Training Commission , the testimony to Carroll ’ s seniority is too obvious to deny .
Marsi defines Carroll ’ s reputation in the PBA as “ legendary .” Behrens recounts Carroll ’ s role negotiating the Local ’ s first contract and names him a founding father of the PBA .
“ He had a lot to do with what ’ s still active today ,” Behrens confirms , solidifying a consensus that even without knowing whether Carroll is indeed the oldest living PBA member , he ’ s more than deserving of the title and recognition .
Carroll on the go
Carroll began patrolling Hoboken ’ s Washington Street in 1948 . But his career of service really commenced five years earlier , when he served as a U . S . Army radio operator and tech sergeant during World War II . During his three years of military service , he was stationed in New Guinea and the Philippines , performing heroic duties that earned him both a Bronze Star and a Combat Infantryman Badge .
It ’ s hard to ignore that Carroll is part of a dwindling population who served in WWII . But he tells war tales like a modern-day Walter Cronkite recounting the evening news .
“ I was probably the only soldier who was wounded and never received a Purple Heart ,” Carroll clarifies before sharing a story that he has undoubtedly told numerous times about a neardeath experience that could have easily taken his face , if not his life .
It ’ s easy for Carroll to travel back in time to relive the events of war . He sets the scene of his company ’ s foxhole perimeter in New Guinea , where one night he sat on guard duty with a machete .
“ All of a sudden , two explosions go off right in front of me . I get hit in the face and fly backward ,” he explains . Two explosions , but somehow Carroll shed no blood . He ’ s quick to recognize that he would have been dead if the blast was from a shrapnel mortar instead of a combustive mortar , set off by a Japanese solider by mistake .
By the time Carroll ’ s military service ended , his three older brothers had already become law enforcement officers . He naturally followed suit with his oldest brother , Tom , and joined the PBA in his hometown .
In 1949 , Dick married Mary Anne , whom he now describes as a “ youngster ” at 91 years old . Together , they raised five children in a cozy home on Garden Street .
Carroll worked his usual post on Washington Street , very conscious of the fact that he had a family to provide for . And the thought of walking this beat for what seemed like forever at minimum wage made Carroll believe that something needed to be done to improve working conditions for law enforcement .
“ I said , ‘ Holy Christmas !’ I ’ m going to have to be on this job for 35 years . We have to do something to change this ,” Carroll recalls . “ That ’ s how I got deeply involved .”
His career as a law enforcement officer on the streets quickly moved behind the union ’ s closed doors . Within his first five years of service , Carroll assumed multiple leadership roles in Local 2 . The Hoboken PD was constantly calling officers to replace Carroll on his post so that he could carry out his union responsibilities .
He was quickly promoted to detective and put into plain clothes – a better fit for an officer who wore many hats within the PBA . His responsibilities off the streets multiplied as he started the very first Hoboken Credit Union in 1952 with another officer , Steve Cappiello , who later served as the mayor for 12 years .
Again , it ’ s not easy to keep up with a 93-year-old whose career of service has yet to reach a true date of retirement . The newspaper clippings on Carroll ’ s desk help to map out the scale of his impact . The headlines and text from New Jersey ’ s Finest tell his story :
Hoboken PBA plans to honor State Delegate for 10 years
Carroll , 49 , has been a member of Hoboken police for 27 years . He was forced to resign as State Delegate after being promoted to sergeant .
40 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ NOVEMBER 2017