He was a son of Nicholas and Mary Russell Molnar. He attended school in Carthage after school he worked for Crown Zellerbach. He served in the United States Army and later named a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He suffered from PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder.
He married, but had been separated since 1985, when his wife departed for Florida.
Handy at small mechanical tasks, he repaired bicycles and fixed old lawn mowers, etc. He worked for the Campany brothers when they owned the tavern and hotel at the corner of Brown Street. He lived in the hotel and then bought the house at 228-230 N. James St. from them in 2006. His home burned down on 2/12/2015. After the fire, he lost many items he loved dearly, one small item he called a "bread box." It contained the handful of medals the Army bestowed on him when he came home from Vietnam, plus a single sheet of paper. The sheet of paper was certification of Austin's "fifteen minutes of fame" on this planet. It was the cover of an issue of LIFE magazine from back in 1969. Austin's photograph was on the front cover of that issue of LIFE.
There were three soldiers in the picture. All were members of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment somewhere in Cambodia. The headline emblazoned across the photo read "THE FORGOTTEN WOUNDED."
The photograph showed the soldiers following a fire-fight in the war zone. They were all members of the "11th ACR" and Austin was pointing at two of his "buddies" who were heavily bandaged on their arms. He said his wounds did not show because they were to the back of his leg.
Austin had always been fond of birds and small animals, and he made many of them his pets. When the fire struck, he was caring for five parakeets, four zebra finches, four cats, three goldfish and his favorite dog.
He especially loved one of the cats and the dog that had been his loyal companion for the past 13 years. It was a fox terrier/German shepherd.
He is survived by his daughter, Suzanne, Carthage; a niece, Yolanda (Donald) Calamusa, Fort Drum; two nephews, Sean (Angie) Molnar, West Carthage; John Paul Molnar, Copenhagen.
He was predeceased by two brothers, John Molnar and Richard Baker.
Burial with Military Honors was made in Fairview Cemetery, Carthage.
12/12/2017 Watertown Times
https://www.wwnytv.com/2022/09/16/vietnam-war-vet-unmarked-grave-finally-honored/?outputType=amp&fbclid=IwAR0t3AXWy51lFhVSnjsXrb-kkuK7U6ThNVdj_uIl9efzmdTZHqTw-Tj4bx0
Contributor: J_A_nyce (47359219)
He married, but had been separated since 1985, when his wife departed for Florida.
Handy at small mechanical tasks, he repaired bicycles and fixed old lawn mowers, etc. He worked for the Campany brothers when they owned the tavern and hotel at the corner of Brown Street. He lived in the hotel and then bought the house at 228-230 N. James St. from them in 2006. His home burned down on 2/12/2015. After the fire, he lost many items he loved dearly, one small item he called a "bread box." It contained the handful of medals the Army bestowed on him when he came home from Vietnam, plus a single sheet of paper. The sheet of paper was certification of Austin's "fifteen minutes of fame" on this planet. It was the cover of an issue of LIFE magazine from back in 1969. Austin's photograph was on the front cover of that issue of LIFE.
There were three soldiers in the picture. All were members of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment somewhere in Cambodia. The headline emblazoned across the photo read "THE FORGOTTEN WOUNDED."
The photograph showed the soldiers following a fire-fight in the war zone. They were all members of the "11th ACR" and Austin was pointing at two of his "buddies" who were heavily bandaged on their arms. He said his wounds did not show because they were to the back of his leg.
Austin had always been fond of birds and small animals, and he made many of them his pets. When the fire struck, he was caring for five parakeets, four zebra finches, four cats, three goldfish and his favorite dog.
He especially loved one of the cats and the dog that had been his loyal companion for the past 13 years. It was a fox terrier/German shepherd.
He is survived by his daughter, Suzanne, Carthage; a niece, Yolanda (Donald) Calamusa, Fort Drum; two nephews, Sean (Angie) Molnar, West Carthage; John Paul Molnar, Copenhagen.
He was predeceased by two brothers, John Molnar and Richard Baker.
Burial with Military Honors was made in Fairview Cemetery, Carthage.
12/12/2017 Watertown Times
https://www.wwnytv.com/2022/09/16/vietnam-war-vet-unmarked-grave-finally-honored/?outputType=amp&fbclid=IwAR0t3AXWy51lFhVSnjsXrb-kkuK7U6ThNVdj_uIl9efzmdTZHqTw-Tj4bx0
Contributor: J_A_nyce (47359219)
He was a son of Nicholas and Mary Russell Molnar. He attended school in Carthage after school he worked for Crown Zellerbach. He served in the United States Army and later named a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He suffered from PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder.
He married, but had been separated since 1985, when his wife departed for Florida.
Handy at small mechanical tasks, he repaired bicycles and fixed old lawn mowers, etc. He worked for the Campany brothers when they owned the tavern and hotel at the corner of Brown Street. He lived in the hotel and then bought the house at 228-230 N. James St. from them in 2006. His home burned down on 2/12/2015. After the fire, he lost many items he loved dearly, one small item he called a "bread box." It contained the handful of medals the Army bestowed on him when he came home from Vietnam, plus a single sheet of paper. The sheet of paper was certification of Austin's "fifteen minutes of fame" on this planet. It was the cover of an issue of LIFE magazine from back in 1969. Austin's photograph was on the front cover of that issue of LIFE.
There were three soldiers in the picture. All were members of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment somewhere in Cambodia. The headline emblazoned across the photo read "THE FORGOTTEN WOUNDED."
The photograph showed the soldiers following a fire-fight in the war zone. They were all members of the "11th ACR" and Austin was pointing at two of his "buddies" who were heavily bandaged on their arms. He said his wounds did not show because they were to the back of his leg.
Austin had always been fond of birds and small animals, and he made many of them his pets. When the fire struck, he was caring for five parakeets, four zebra finches, four cats, three goldfish and his favorite dog.
He especially loved one of the cats and the dog that had been his loyal companion for the past 13 years. It was a fox terrier/German shepherd.
He is survived by his daughter, Suzanne, Carthage; a niece, Yolanda (Donald) Calamusa, Fort Drum; two nephews, Sean (Angie) Molnar, West Carthage; John Paul Molnar, Copenhagen.
He was predeceased by two brothers, John Molnar and Richard Baker.
Burial with Military Honors was made in Fairview Cemetery, Carthage.
12/12/2017 Watertown Times
https://www.wwnytv.com/2022/09/16/vietnam-war-vet-unmarked-grave-finally-honored/?outputType=amp&fbclid=IwAR0t3AXWy51lFhVSnjsXrb-kkuK7U6ThNVdj_uIl9efzmdTZHqTw-Tj4bx0
Contributor: J_A_nyce (47359219)
He married, but had been separated since 1985, when his wife departed for Florida.
Handy at small mechanical tasks, he repaired bicycles and fixed old lawn mowers, etc. He worked for the Campany brothers when they owned the tavern and hotel at the corner of Brown Street. He lived in the hotel and then bought the house at 228-230 N. James St. from them in 2006. His home burned down on 2/12/2015. After the fire, he lost many items he loved dearly, one small item he called a "bread box." It contained the handful of medals the Army bestowed on him when he came home from Vietnam, plus a single sheet of paper. The sheet of paper was certification of Austin's "fifteen minutes of fame" on this planet. It was the cover of an issue of LIFE magazine from back in 1969. Austin's photograph was on the front cover of that issue of LIFE.
There were three soldiers in the picture. All were members of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment somewhere in Cambodia. The headline emblazoned across the photo read "THE FORGOTTEN WOUNDED."
The photograph showed the soldiers following a fire-fight in the war zone. They were all members of the "11th ACR" and Austin was pointing at two of his "buddies" who were heavily bandaged on their arms. He said his wounds did not show because they were to the back of his leg.
Austin had always been fond of birds and small animals, and he made many of them his pets. When the fire struck, he was caring for five parakeets, four zebra finches, four cats, three goldfish and his favorite dog.
He especially loved one of the cats and the dog that had been his loyal companion for the past 13 years. It was a fox terrier/German shepherd.
He is survived by his daughter, Suzanne, Carthage; a niece, Yolanda (Donald) Calamusa, Fort Drum; two nephews, Sean (Angie) Molnar, West Carthage; John Paul Molnar, Copenhagen.
He was predeceased by two brothers, John Molnar and Richard Baker.
Burial with Military Honors was made in Fairview Cemetery, Carthage.
12/12/2017 Watertown Times
https://www.wwnytv.com/2022/09/16/vietnam-war-vet-unmarked-grave-finally-honored/?outputType=amp&fbclid=IwAR0t3AXWy51lFhVSnjsXrb-kkuK7U6ThNVdj_uIl9efzmdTZHqTw-Tj4bx0
Contributor: J_A_nyce (47359219)
