SOMERS, N.Y. - Milton Karl’s military service ended more than five decades ago, but his commitment to service—to his country, his community, and his neighbors—has never stopped.
Karl, a Somers resident and Vietnam War veteran, was honored in November as one of Congressman Mike Lawler’s 2025 Veterans of the Year during a ceremony in Putnam County recognizing veterans from across New York’s 17th Congressional District.
“It was an honor to host our annual Veteran of the Year ceremony,” Lawler said in a statement. “Each of the honorees represents the very best of us, not only for what they did in uniform, but for the lives they’ve led afterward.”
Karl served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968, reaching the rank of Specialist Fifth Class. After completing training at Fort Gordon in Georgia and Fort Sill in Oklahoma, he was deployed to Vietnam, where he was stationed at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon.
His specialty was food service and procurement—a role that required ensuring troops had the supplies they needed, often under difficult conditions.
“We did whatever anybody needed,” Karl said. “Anything that was needed by anybody.”
Like many Vietnam veterans, Karl returned home to a country that offered little recognition for his service. That reality, he said, stayed with him for years.
“When I accepted the award from Congressman Lawler, I said I was accepting it on behalf of every Vietnam soldier who was never given the recognition he deserved,” Karl said. “Not that we were looking for it—but it would have been nice.”
After his military service, Karl built a long career in the bakery business, eventually inheriting his father’s operation, which later moved from the Bronx to New Rochelle. Though he officially retired in 1989, retirement didn’t last long. He soon found himself managing bakery locations at Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal—a role he held for 25 years.
Karl’s sense of service extended well beyond his professional life. He served on the board of directors of his temple in White Plains and, following the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, became deeply involved as a volunteer with the American Red Cross.
On the morning of 9/11, Karl went directly to the Red Cross headquarters in White Plains and offered help. Within hours, he was driving an ambulance, transporting doctors, and ultimately organizing massive food and supply operations that supported emergency responders and relief efforts throughout New York City.
Drawing on his logistics and food service background, Karl coordinated donations from major companies, secured refrigeration equipment, and helped keep aid flowing to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Javits Center for weeks. His efforts earned him recognition as one of the Red Cross’s Volunteers of the Year for 9/11.
“It was the right people at the right time,” Karl said. “Everybody wanted to give and help.”
Congressman Lawler noted that the Veterans of the Year honorees were selected not only for their military service, but for the impact they have continued to make in their communities—through leadership, volunteerism, and quiet acts of service.
For Karl, the honor is meaningful not just on a personal level, but as a long-overdue acknowledgment for those who served alongside him.
“I was lucky—both in Vietnam and on 9/11,” he concluded. “A lot of people weren’t. This recognition means a lot, especially for those who never got it.”
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