Few drivers cresting over Bald Hill and viewing the stunning Vietnam Veterans Memorial towering before them are aware of the pivotal role that Stephen G. Hayduk played in making the red, white, and blue monument possible. Were it not for him, the landmark might never have been completed.
A Vietnam vet himself, Hayduk identified the site of the memorial, donated his services to design it, convinced numerous contractors and unions to contribute their services, and directed the special commission that built the 100-foot obelisk. Now, this former Commissioner of Suffolk County’s Department of Public Works is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the engineering firm he started out of his home and has grown into a 40-person operation he manages with his son, handling major projects throughout the region.
The Brookhaven resident didn’t grow up dreaming of starting an engineering company and building monuments. In 1967, he dropped out of Deer Park High School and enlisted in the Army. The war in Vietnam was raging, and he went into combat as a crew chief with the Gladiators of the Army’s 57th Assault Helicopter Company. Manning a 60-caliber machine gun, Hayduk flew hundreds of missions in the war’s hot spots, coming under hostile enemy fire from the very start.
“Personally, Vietnam gave me a drive to improve myself,” Hayduk said in a 1995 interview marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. “I was a good student, but I was interested in other things, not college. Vietnam helped me with my maturity and to put things in perspective.” When he returned to the States, the future engineer went to college on the G.I. Bill. “So, even if it was in many ways a negative experience, I turned it into a positive one. There's not a day that goes by that Vietnam doesn't cross my mind.”
In remembrance of fellow soldiers who did not make it home from the war, Hayduk saw to it that the towering monument was built in their honor. The four-sided spire is made from Georgia Cherokee granite and is emblazoned with Stars and Stripes. The dedicated vet’s vision for the site 320 feet above sea level in Farmingville—one of the highest points on Long Island—won a design competition and cost $1.3 million to construct in 1991. Floodlights illuminate the massive tower at night, and visitors to the 6.5-acre Veterans Memorial Park just off County Road 83 enjoy a view of the Great South Bay, Fire Island, and the Atlantic Ocean. To the north, the Long Island Sound and Connecticut can be seen from its majestic summit.
During a 2006 return to Vietnam with fellow veterans, Hayduk, along with Memorial Commission members Assemblyman John Behan, and James Larocca, donated unspent funds raised for the memorial to a special project that was removing unexploded land mines from the ground to eliminate a serious safety threat for the Vietnamese people.
“When I started out as a one-man operation, working from home, I would never have imagined how successful the business would ultimately become,” Hayduk said on the occasion of its anniversary. “I was just focused on the immediate goal of getting it going. I am especially proud that our firm is still family-owned and operated and provides the highest level of service and responsiveness to our clients,” he said while also acknowledging his dedicated staff.
Hayduk has won a chest full of honors during his career, including Young Engineer of the Year and then Engineer of the Year from the New York State Society of Professional Engineers. The Suffolk Community College and Rochester Institute of Technology graduate also served on the Long Island Regional Planning Board and has been an adjunct professor at his local alma mater. Hayduk Engineering, certified as a Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, has recently expanded into a new headquarters near Islip MacArthur Airport.
His firm has developed a diverse portfolio of accomplishments ranging from sewer projects for Suffolk County, expansion of Jake’s 58 Casino, the state Thruway Authority’s I-95 Last Mile Reconstruction project, Long Island Rail Road’s Third Track, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Bay Park Conveyance effort.
The company has received awards for individual projects as well, including the Town of Smithtown Callahan’s Beach Restoration and the Lofts at Maple and Main in Smithtown. Hayduk Engineering has been recognized as one of the top firms in the state by the Engineering News-Record and one of Long Island’s Best Places to Work. It was included on the 2024 Zweig Group Hot Firm List.
“The growth we’ve experienced over the past 10 years has strengthened our firm’s ability to provide quality engineering services across multiple disciplines,” Hayduk said. “With the opening of our new, state-of-the-art facility, we are well-positioned for continued growth and are even better equipped to meet the needs of government agencies and private sector clients that benefit from the services we provide.”