Parade Marshall

Carlos Simonetti

Vietnam Veteran USMC

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Carlos was born in 1947 in Harlem, NYC.  He briefly lived in Puerto Rico as a child and then returned to Manhattan.  He then moved to the South Bronx, when he was a teenager. 

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At the age of 17, Carlos joined the Marines.  After basic training, he was sent to Montford Point, Camp Lejune to undergo food services training as a steward.  The title was later changed to cook.  Thereafter, he transferred to Danang, Vietnam with the first Marine Airwing.  In around 1966, Carlos worked mostly nights doing mess duties and at times served as a Guard in the airfield base perimeter.  He returned to stateside and was stationed in Quantico, Virginia. 

He was unhappy working as a cook and applied for Marine Security Guard School (MSG).  To apply, he had to extend his enlistment an extra year.  After successfully completing MSG school, Carlos was sent to San Jose, Costa Rica.  The job consisted of patrolling embassy grounds protecting personnel and property.  Because Carlos was bilingual in Spanish, he was sent to San Jose spending three years there instead of one year.  The job also involved him looking for exposed classified material unprotected, protecting it when found and issuing a citation (they call it a “pink slip” because it was pink and not a nice thing for the responsible employee.)  One night, while sitting at his desk next to the embassy door during closing, he noticed groups of employees returning in a panic back to their work sites.  He was confused and had a puzzled look on his face.  A diplomat whispered into his ear “Do you know why they are returning?”  He replied “No”.  He whispered, “They call you eagle eyes”.  I told him I understood.  Carlos worked in the embassy until 1969 and from there he returned stateside to receive his honorable discharge as a SGT. 

 

After his service years, Carlos worked as a store detective for Brooks Brothers.  He later worked part-time while going to John Jay College of Criminal Justice.  He worked part-time as a security guard and undercover agent.  After graduating with a B.A., Carlos worked as a bilingual ROR Interviewer (Release on Own Recognizance) traveling to the court detention areas and police precincts.  The job was to interview defendants prior to arraignment to determine their extent of community ties and report to the judge.  Later he worked as a supervisor for ROR interviewers in Queens Criminal Court.  Carlos also worked as a provisional Spanish interpreter in the Civil Court in Manhattan.  He later became a permanent interpreter in the criminal court but later was transferred to the Manhattan Civil Court.  There Carlos was promoted to Provisional Senior Court Clerk and later became permanent. 

Carlos was later promoted to Associate Court Clerk involving the supervision of automated systems for computers, printers, etc. citywide for the Civil Court.  

 

After, he was transferred as the Supervisor for Queens Small Claims Court, and Supervisor in the General Clerk’s Office in Queens Civil Court.  Carlos retired in 2007. 

 

Carlos is married for almost 50 years.  He has a son and daughter and has lots of grandchildren and still counting.  He loves his country and he is grateful for the Marines.  Carlos was a street kid with no future.  His tough training in boot camp changed Carlos’ life 180 degrees.  He also considers himself lucky to work as an MSG in the beautiful country of Costa Rica.  Working with highly intelligent people and diplomats motivated Carlos to go to college and also meeting American business executives and getting to know them when they came to visit the country. Carlos also protected them. 

 

Carlos developed friendships with high-ranking officers of the country’s National Guard Police.  To have traffic stopped and to receive a salute from a policeman while he drove by in a limo with diplomatic plates owned by the embassy and being called “Carlitos” was awe-inspiring for a kid who grew up in the ghetto in Manhattan.  Although Carlos did not fit the tall masculine image of a Marine Guard because he was little and wore glasses, he believes his knowledge of Spanish and his personality made him live up to the MSG motto “Ambassador in blue” and was one lucky guy to live in a paradise called Costa Rica.  If you are reckless enough to visit one of its volcanoes and go deep into its caves, you will notice Carolo left a love message there.  Luckily, volcanic fumes were not present.  His life has been like the proverbial cat with nine lives but in the red.  Carlos is grateful Jesus has been with me. 

Also if one is curious about Carlos’ ethnic background, he is a hybrid according to a DNA test he took years ago.  As with most Puerto Ricans, he is a mixture of African, European and American Indian (Taino).  The name Simonetti is from the Corsican migration that arrived in Puerto Rico centuries ago.  Besides being fluent in Spanish, Carlos has a working knowledge of Italian.  He had to learn it in the courtship of his wife, who is Sicilian.  Carlos is often mistaken for Italian, but when he tells them he is Puerto Rican some go into shock.  The remnants of the old “West Side Story” days.   This was prevalent in the 60’s and 70’s. 

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