Historian,  Speaker, Educator, Storyteller, Writer, Podcaster, Veteran & Advocate, Professor,  Military History Curator, & Coach

Rich gained his earliest appreciation for history under his social studies teachers at Comsewogue School District.  Starting with Michael Cook his eighth-grade teacher for American history.  He later conducted his middle school student teacher under his guidance.  He worked for business teacher Thomas Hespos, a devoted teacher, coach, and a disciplined figure.  For a time, Hespos held several offensive passing records as a quarterback for CW Post College, was signed by legendary Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardi, and played semi-professional football.  He successfully coached baseball, basketball, and football on the high school levels.  In 1982, Hespos won the New York State Baseball Championship.  Shortly after, he left coaching and concentrate on his irrigation business, where Rich worked as a high school and college student.  They worked together installing large irrigation systems and servicing many homes on the North and South Forks of Long Island.  Hespos has mentored Rich within his coaching and will surely provide key business advice through Legendary Discussions Incorporated.  

Well over thirty years after graduating high school, Rich has remained close with his coaches and teachers and credits them for his work ethic and drive to become an educator, professor, and coach.  He worked under  Bill Nugent in baseball, Bob Davis in cross country, and Thomas Judge in wrestling. Rich has just entered his twenty-sixth year in coaching and remains close with many of his current and past athletes.  For decades, his student-athletes were not only successful through the competition of sports, but have been highly productive citizens, and now parents.

At Stony Brook University, he was a citizen-soldier serving in both the United States Army Reserves 623rd/773rd Transportation Battalions as a heavy truck operator hauling jet fuel/jp8, heavy equipment, explosives, ammunition, airplane parts and computer equipment.  He completed his military commitment at the New York 106th Air National Guard Rescue Wing in Westhampton Beach.

Rich studied under noted Professor Michael Barnhart, first in his foreign policy course, and secondly within the Stony Brook History Honors Degree Program.  They spent many moments together covering the capable, but controversial actions of American Armor Commander General George S. Patton.  Barnhart taught Rich how to fully research this figure through the use of major libraries, the archives, secondary sources, and interviewing authors, specialists, and veterans about the strengths and weaknesses of Patton's command.  Traveling to West Point, Rich worked with Lieutenant Colonel Guy LoFaro and Librarian Allen Aimone, who aided these efforts to identify the views of Patton by his Peers towards the leadership abilities of this talented, but at times troubled leader.

Rich has been one of the strongest researchers of the Long Island Prisoners of War from World War II.  He has interviewed and published stories on airmen shot down conducting bombing raids over Nazi occupied Germany and Europe, Swiss interned service members, and citizens who survived the Bataan Death March and over three years as a Japanese Prisoner of War.  

He has also conducted significant writing on Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy a Medal of Honor Recipient, was placed on the Department of the Navy's list to commemorate this local citizen.  He continually stresses this story of heroism to his students and athletes.  The story of Murphy represents the "All-American" kid who under immense fire, tried to save his men from the Taliban.

In 2007, Rich enrolled into the challenging Masters in Military History Degree Program at Norwich University, taking several courses on military theory, leadership, historical fighting, government involvement, research/writing, and collaborating with higher level historian figures.  Rich conducted additional research on Patton and worked with noted scholar, historian, speaker, writer Dennis Showalter.

Rich wrote his first story in 2008 for a local newspaper on Michael O'Shea, a prisoner of war who was imprisoned at Stalag Luft III.  Since this time, Rich has over 240 stories published on governments, military, sports figures, social/economic leaders and situations, major events, and current events.  At the time of this website, he was working on several 9/11/01 pieces for the Times Beacon Record and the South Shore Press that reaches people across Suffolk and Nassau County on Long Island.

In 2009, Rich has taught as an adjunct professor at Suffolk Community College for mostly Early and Modern American History.  He has been promoted several times and has taught in every fall/spring semester since he was hired.  Rich has created on the college level research projects for his student, utilized his writing skills, and enjoys teaching at a higher level that is near his home.  For years, Rich has seen his college students progress with their education and graduate to be hired to many important jobs.

In 2011=12, Rich chaired the Town of Brookhaven VFW Post 6249 Diamond in the Pines 9/11/01 Learning Site.  He organized, fundraised, researched the residents and graduates lost, worked with the sculptor,  the plaques that hold the historical information for this entire monuement