Youngstown native is named to hall of fame

The veterans were recognized for military and community service.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Michael J. Lacivita, a World War II Navy veteran, has been named to the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame Class of 2004.
Lacivita, 79, is among 19 who will be inducted into the hall of fame at 11 a.m. Nov. 3 in the Atrium of the Statehouse in Columbus.
Members of the Class of 2004, announced by Gov. Bob Taft, include four posthumous inductees and representatives of armed conflicts from the War of 1812, the Civil War, World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars.
The Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame was established in 1992 to recognize Ohio veterans with honorable military service who have gone on to make significant contributions to their community, profession, state and nation, according to Karen Kish of the Governor's Office of Veterans Affairs.
Career history
Lacivita was drafted into the Navy on May 17, 1943, at 18. He served aboard the USS LST 582, and participated in the D-Day invasion of Lingayen Gulf and Okinawa, receiving two Battle Stars. After 33 months of military service, he was discharged on Feb. 20, 1946, as a petty officer 2nd class.
He attended Youngstown College under the G.I. Bill from 1946 to 1951, graduating in January 1951 with a bachelor's degree in general business with a minor in mathematics.
He held supervisory positions in the rubber and steel industries. He was a quality control manager and production superintendent at Aeroquip Corp.'s Republic Rubber Division, and retired as safety and security director at Commercial Intertech.
The 1942 graduate of East High School now pursues his hobbies of photography, writing, inventing and gardening.
For 15 years, he has been working on a photo documentary called "Amish in Agriculture," and his photographs have been published in area newspapers as well as national magazines.
He writes periodic columns for The Vindicator and the Senior News and other publications that deal mainly with his "I Was There" recollections of the Great Depression and World War II.
He donates photographs to charitable causes and for many years has made presentations at no charge to senior citizens groups, nursing homes, assisted living residents and elementary school children.
Community service
Active in the community, Lacivita was inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame in 1996, and is listed in Who's Who in American in 1998 through 2003 and Who's Who in the Midwest numerous times.
He has created about 200 inventions, one of which -- the Park-a-Bike rack -- was patented, and was the founding president of the Youngstown-Warren Inventors Group.
Of the Class of 2004, Gov. Taft said, "These exemplary Ohioans embody service to country while in uniform and in their daily lives as civilians. We are humbled by the accomplishments of our veterans and the contributions they make to our communities, professions, state and nation."