Military life often involves the entire family — be it living together on a base or sacrificing time with a loved one serving overseas. But for these three area families, defending America is truly a way of life that spans multiple generations.
Will and Julie Valenza of Queensbury, NY, have a special bond with their children, Mitchell, 27; Camille, 26; and Andrew, 25. All five have served their country.
“Our situation is a little unique,” Will told The Post.
In 2020, Will (Sgt. First Class), Julie (Major) and Andrew (Staff Sergeant) deployed together to the Middle East as members of the Army National Guard’s 42nd Infantry Division.
West Point grad Mitchell (Captain) recalled passing through Kuwait on his way home from a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan and being able to spend five days with his mother and Andrew.
“It’s been looked into, and they can’t find any other family that’s been deployed to a combat theatre as a family,” said Will.
In 1986, the Park Slope native joined the New York Army National guard and served for six years before he and Julie moved upstate and Will became the police chief in Glen Falls. In 2009, he rejoined the National Guard.
Despite having young teens, Julie followed suit and was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan — which heavily influenced her children’s decisions to go into the service.
“My mom deployed to Afghanistan the summer between my eighth and ninth grade. She now has two combat deployments under her belt, which is very impressive,” said Andrew, 25 who joined the Army National Guard at 17.
Camille, a captain in the Army National Guard, said the whole family’s vocation “keeps us closer because we do the same job.”
Both parents recently retired but remain proud of their offspring.
“In a few years, I am going to be the lowest ranked in the family,” said Will. “And I couldn’t be happier.”
When Petty Officer Donna Bielauskas turned 18 in March of 1972, her male friends and neighbors were being sent to fight in Vietnam — so the Patterson, NJ, native joined the Navy.
“If [women] expected to be treated equally, I thought, ‘We have to do this too,'” the 69-year-old told The Post. “So I did.”
She was stationed at the Roosevelt Roads base in Puerto Rico in a personnel role.
“I was so damn independent. I wanted to do things my way,” she said. “I’m sure my parents were concerned.”
But they likely were not surprised.
Her father started out in the Coast Guard and became part of the Navy during World War II. Her maternal grandfather fought in WWI.
Donna married an Army Veteran, the late Bill Bielauskas, and had four children. Their only daughter, Lisa Bielauskas, is now a Senior Chief Petty Officer approaching her 18th year in service.
A nuclear machinists mate, Lisa has served on three aircraft carriers and is currently stationed at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit in upstate New York.
“The military made me mature and made me realize that I am carrying on a family tradition,” she said. “It would be awesome to have the next generation join. My brother has two kids, so we’ll see.”
Throughout his childhood, Lt. Matt Boehm’s maternal grandfather, PFC. Jim Doyle, would host all the grandkids at his pool. But they weren’t allowed to swim until they sang the Marine Corp Hymn.
“The Marine Corp was a huge part of our childhood,” Boehm told The Post. That pride was instilled by Doyle, a radio operator at Iowa Jima who was injured on his last night there.
“The island was secure, and he was leaving the next day. A Japanese grenade was thrown into his foxhole, and he picked it up and tried to throw it out.”
Doyle lost some fingers as it exploded and was flown to Pearl Harbor to recover — and a flag that flew over the USS Arizona Memorial for Doyle remains one of Matt’s prized possessions in his West Village apartment.
Matt’s father, J2LT Rodney Boehm — himself the son of an Army vet — was an Army officer and later a reservist.
Despite their history, Rodney said, “There was no expectation” for his six kids to serve in the military. But four did: Lt. Jim, 43, attended the Naval Academy. So did Matt, now, 39, who became a nuclear engineer on submarines. ENS. John, 41, served as a Navy reservist. Daughter Lt. Emily Tuttle, 37, worked as a Navy trauma nurse in Iraq.
“Your heart skips a beat when you see four of your kids in uniform,” said Rodney.
Matt, who was deployed three times, left the Navy in 2016. But he’s already imbuing the spirit of service in his toddler, Josephine.
“Her middle name is Poppy because of Veterans Day,” said Matt of the symbolic flower. “It’s such an important day for us.”