Alumni, come see who’s new on the Wall! The Sayville Alumni Association is proud to announce the newest member of our Wall of Distinguished Alumni: Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Austin Greene, Sayville High School Class of 1948 — military commander and educator.

Born in Brooklyn, “Lenny” Greene moved to Sayville during his high school years and pitched left-handed for the Sayville baseball team. He went on to Niagara University — a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in 1952, and more baseball — and was drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War. He made a life of it: Officer Candidate School, a commission, and a distinguished career spanning more than two decades.

His service took him from commanding a company in Cold War West Germany to two year-long combat tours in the Republic of Vietnam. His decorations include two Bronze Star Medals, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge. And between assignments, he came home to Sayville as an official in the Babe Ruth League, mentoring teenage ballplayers.

From 1969 to 1975, Greene supervised the Army ROTC program at Indiana University. After retiring from active duty, he kept right on developing young leaders — Commandant of Cadets at Culver Military Academy in Indiana, then more than twenty years at St. John’s Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, where he rose to Chief of Staff. He served his fellow veterans as Finance Officer of American Legion Post 196 until his death on December 15, 2008, at the age of 78.

Come see for yourself — read Lt. Col. Greene’s full profile on our Wall of Distinguished Alumni, and join us in honoring a Sayville graduate who spent fifty years choosing service — one more classroom, one more cadet, one more community at a time. Welcome to the Wall, Colonel Greene!