Kids & Family

John Hvisch Gets Police Shield, Hall of Fame Honor

Mount Kisco's John Hvisch was mentioned for two distinctions recently at a meeting of the village board of trustees.

In addition to being selected as Mount Kisco's pick for the third-annual Veterans' Hall of Fame for the 40th state senate district, Hvisch was presented with a retirement shield, more than three decades after he retired from Westchester County's Parkway Police.

Hvisch will be honored at a regional hall of fame ceremony on Nov. 21 at Mahopac High School. The Veterans' Hall of Fame initiative was started by state Sen. Greg Ball, whose district includes Mount Kisco.

“Mr. Hvisch is a prime example of the saying, ‘the few, the proud, the Marines’. He has dedicated his life to our County by serving in the United States Marines then after his military service he continued to dedicate himself to serving our community for twenty-two years in the Westchester County Department of Public Safety,” Ball said in a recent press release. “I am very excited to join with Mount Kisco to honor Mr. Hvisch for his years of service to our Country and I greatly look forward to the Hall of Fame ceremony this November.”

At the village board of trustees meeting, Mayor Michael Cindrich described Hvisch's storied life.

In 1943, when he was just 17 and had objecting parents, Hvisch joined the United States Marine Corps. He served in several battles in the Pacific theater of World War II, including the Battle of Okinawa that lasted for 82 days, his biography notes, and he was also honored with medals and battle stars. Hvisch lost friends in the war and has remained in touch with fellow veterans.

Hvisch left service in 1946 and in 1954 he joined the Parkway Police, which is a predecessor to the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, and served before retiring in 1976. Today, Cindrich noted, he volunteers at Mount Kisco's senior center and does a variety of things. He also is an usher at St. Francis of Assisi. Hvisch has five children and 10 grandchildren.

Hvisch was presented with a shield, something that was noted as being common for retiring police, by Cindrich's son, Lt. Michael Cindrich, who serves with the county police.

The younger Cindrich talked about his research of Hvisch and discovered an occasion during a snowstorm in the late 1960s where he and a colleague trekked to get food for people who were stranded and stayed at the police headquarters. Hvisch's vehicle could not make it to the destination so he improved with snow shoes and a sled.

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