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Shelter dedicated to sailor

Veterans gather Saturday to dedicate the shelter at the Institute Hill Playground in honor of Victor Rikal Sr., who was killed while serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War.

It was as if Victor Rikal Sr. was with Bill Edmiston on Saturday.

“I can feel his spirit here today,” Edmiston said.

Edmiston and another of Rikal’s friends, Junior Sloboda, shared those fond memories Saturday at Institute Hill Playground after the playground shelter was dedicated to Rikal, a Butler native who was killed in naval service in 1969.

“Vic was really down to earth,” Edmiston said. “He was loyal. He was really trustworthy. We had some really good times.”

Around 200 people showed up to honor Rikal, who was one of 74 men who died when the USS Frank E. Evans was cut in half following a collision with the HMAS Melbourne, an Australian aircraft carrier, in the early morning hours of June 3, 1969, in the South China Sea.

“It was more than I expected,” Rikal’s widow, Barbara, said of the turnout. “I’m sure it was more than anyone expected. God smiled with good weather, and I’ve seen people I haven’t seen for decades who came to see Vic’s plaque.”

Rikal’s son, Victor Rikal Jr., was similarly gracious.

“It means an awful lot to our family to see such a big turnout, and to know that he won’t be forgotten,” he said.

Rikal Sr.’s plaque was paid for by American Legion Post 117 and Post 778. In 2015, Institute Hill Playground was redone, and the shelter was built by the PM Rotary Club.

Decades before, it was a playground that Rikal Sr. and his brother, Mark Rikal, enjoyed.

“This was a big deal, with the battle of the bands and coming here to play and guys shooting hoops and playing tennis,” Mark Rikal said.

He also remembered his big brother, seven years his senior, being protective of him. Some of the older kids would throw apple cores at the younger kids, but Mark Rikal never had to worry about being a target.

“We were the young kids up here, and my brother had a fancy hot rod car, and because of that guys knew him,” he said with a smile. “Because of that, guys knew if you messed with Mark you might have to deal with Vic.”

Edmiston remembered being in boot camp with Sloboda and Rikal, and a premonition Rikal had.

“He looked at us and said, ‘I wonder which one of us is not coming home?’” Edmiston said.

Sloboda remembered a similar sentiment from Rikal a week before he died. He was staying at Sloboda’s house where Sloboda was stationed in San Diego for the weekend.

“He had a premonition that he told us that he was not coming back from that cruise,” Sloboda said.

Rikal was on watch at the combat information center at the time of the collision. He was 23.

Butler Mayor Tom Donaldson issued a proclamation that declared Saturday “Victor Thomas Rikal Sr. Day” in Butler.

Butler Township Commissioner Dave Zarnick and U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, who was unable to attend the event because he was in Washington, D.C., on Friday for the presidential inauguration, also issued proclamations honoring Rikal.

Butler Township Commissioner and military veteran Sam Zurzolo read Kelly’s proclamation.

Ed Holsopple, of the Frank E. Evans Association, came from Johnstown to honor Rikal.

Holsopple noted the origin of the USS Frank E. Evans. It was built in New York City shipyards in 1944, was commissioned in 1945 and saw action at the tail end of World War II.

It was decommissioned during the Korean War, but was recommissioned for the Vietnam War. More than 4,000 served on the ship, including Holsopple, who was shipmates with Rikal for six months without knowing it.

“All those guys on that ship were terrific,” he said.

Even though he’s been gone almost 48 years, Victor Rikal Sr. still lives in the hearts and minds of his friends and family.

As Sloboda said, “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him.”

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