U.S. Air Force veteran Mario Obertis completed his military service decades ago, but he has yet to stop doing service for others.
Obertis, 80, serves G&E Linder VFW Post 8031 in New Hyde Park as senior vice commander and is president of the board of directors of the Center for Developmental Disabilities.
He got involved with the non-profit Center for Developmental Disabilities shortly after the two sons he and his wife, Marilyn, had were both born autistic. Their two sons, Jimmy and John, currently live together in an adult assisted living center on Long Island.
“It’s one of those things that keeps you going all the time,” Obertis said. “You have to advocate for the kids because they can’t advocate for themselves.”
A New Hyde Park resident since 1955, Obertis started working with the Center for Developmental Disabilities 25 years ago, starting by serving on committees when his sons were still in school. He has been on the board of the center since 1999 and has served as president of the board since 2006.
When his sons were first in school, he said no programs existed for autistic children, who were perceived to be mentally deficient. Eventually, his sons were both accepted to the children’s residence center for the Nassau Center for Developmental Disabilities in Woodbury.
“He’s had a strong presence and advocacy involvement,” said Nick Boba, executive director of the Center for Developmental Disabilities. “He’s been an incredible leader. I call him ‘the rock’.”
Boba said Obertis has a “quiet” but “fierce” advocacy style and a “stablizing” effect in working with parents of children with disabilities.
Boba said he started doing lobbying work with Obertis in 1996. That year the New York State Association of Community and Residential Agencies gave the Center for Developmental Disabilities the award for excellence for grassroots advocacy.
“I really feel we won the award because of his leadership,” Boba said.
This year, Obertis worked to help get proposed state budget cuts restored for people with disabilities.
“We got that restored with a lot of lobbying. It’s not a dull life,” he said. “I’m not the type that can just sit down and cry.”
Obertis joined the VFW Post in New Hyde Park after he attended a village Memorial Day Parade in 1994. He went to Marcus Christ Hall for refreshments after the parade and remembers thinking, “I should be part of them.”
A Korean War era vet, he became active with the VFW the following year as the post’s chaplain and then its quartermaster for a couple of years. He became post commander for six years and then took charge of the Memorial Day Parade as junior vice commander. He’s been helping to organize the parade for the past 10 years.
“I enjoy participating because it’s a form of camaraderie,” he said of the VFW. “We signed up to defend to the death the American way of life.”
Obertis said that shared experience creates a bond between the VFW members, regardless of the era they served in.
“He’s a very humble, dedicated person, honest, sincere and patriotic. If you need something, he’s always there,” said Ed Smolenski, commander of Post 8031. “You couldn’t find a nicer guy than Mario.”
Obertis enlisted in the Air Force at age 17 in 1951 after a close friend serving in the Marine Corps died during the Korean War.
“I liked airplanes at the time. I used to follow the planes and pilots of World War II,” Obertis said.
He wanted to be a pilot, but his age and lack of college experience made that goal unattainable. He was briefly posted to Korea, but spent most of his service time with the 86th Fighter Interceptor Wing at Landstuhl Air Base in West Germany, where had the vital task of securing parts for F-86 jets.
“We had to keep the planes flying because we were in the Cold War,” Obertis said.
He recalls the tension of that time, as the Cold War often turned hot when F-86s and Russian MIGs faced off.
“There were skirmishes. They would buzz our airplanes and we’d buzz theirs.” he said, adding there were shots fired in the air by both sides.
After the war, he worked at Hazeltine Electronics in Little Neck for several years and earned an engineering degree from Farmingdale College. Then he started a 29-year career at Grumman Corp., eventually working as manager, management controls and project planning, engineering operations from September 1988 to December 1994. During his tenure there, he spent three years as planning engineer on the F-14 program.
“I loved airplanes. When you like something, you really throw yourself into it,” Obertis said.
When Northrup took over Grumman in 1994, he retired rather than accept a job in California or Florida.
Since retiring, he’s had part-time jobs with the Community Congregational Church and the Beacon Church, which succeeded the Community Congregational Church, as a bookkeeper.
One of his favorite pastimes is playing the piano. During his Air Force service, he played in a jazz quintet dubbed The Five Knights that won an Air Force title in an entertainment competition that earned him and his fellow musicians a trip home to the states. He played for his sons years later, and enjoys playing for himself as a source of solace.
“One of the things that helped me out was playing the piano. It can really relax you,” he said.
