December 5, 1976, four boys from Winter Park High School set out on a duck hunting expedition with a father as chaperone. The boys were never heard from again, having lost their lives in Mosquito Lagoon, located just outside of Titusville, FL. The Lagoon Boys memorial, honoring juniors Phillip Piche, Peter Sullivan, Robert Yonge, and senior Phillip “Delaney” Yonge, is a near casualty of the comprehensive renovation project currently being carried out at the high school. Although the memorial will change in appearance, the school has ensured the boys will not be left behind.
Ann Sheldon, Sullivan’s younger sister, recalled, “It was a Saturday night, and they had played in a regional championship football game against Merritt Island. They had gone duck hunting after the football game (Sunday Morning).”
What was supposed to be a day excursion for the boys, a way to commemorate their season quickly went southward when their 16-foot motorboat capsized which sealed in their preserves and threw them in the frigid eight-foot water, according to the Sentinel Star. Later that evening, the Sullivan family waited for Peter to attend the 6 o’clock Sunday mass at Saint Margaret Mary when the Coast Guard called them.
“The Coast Guard said that it had been reported that the boat was capsized, and the Yonges’ dad (Robert Yonge Senior) made it to shore. He reported that Peter was the first to leave the boat and try to swim for shore,” Sheldon said.
That call turned the community upside down as all of Winter Park looked for the boys, conducting the largest search in Melbourne’s history according to David Haynes.
“I remember Monday morning and Sunday night everybody was searching for the boys. On Tuesday the high school closed down, and they had busloads of volunteer kids going over to search for the boys,” Sheldon said.
Margaret Pietkiewicz, a teacher at WPHS and a senior when the events occurred recalled, “My parents would not let me go, but a lot of my friends, and probably 1000s of high school kids for a solid week, went all day long out to Mosquito Lagoon searching for the boys. That is what I remember the most is the trauma of not knowing what happened, having that hope that they’re out there freezing to death, but we were going to find them.”
The community searched for two days and raised 4,500 dollars to fund a helicopter before they found Sullivan’s body on Wednesday, according to the Winter Park Sentinel. Infrared cameras used the heat of the bodies to locate Piche and the Yonges according to the Sentinel Star. The retrieval of Delaney’s body ended the search on the 13th. Sullivan’s funeral was on Saturday the 11th, thousands attended according to the Orlando Sentinel. Piche’s and Yonges’ followed on that Tuesday.
“I think this was a traumatic thing for all of us because we’re all 17-18, years old. We’d never had to go to a funeral before in our lives, and we had to go to four of our friends within one week,” said Pietkiewicz.
However, Sheldon doesn’t believe that this was just a tragic event, but something that brought the whole community together. From neighbors constantly bringing food by her home, to a
stranger from Indialantic, FL sending a letter of condolence, the warmth of the community was apparent to Sheldon.
Sheldon still values how those kids willingly searched the freezing December marsh, “That kind of sacrifice and that kind of just willingness to think beyond your own self is something that this is why the whole thing is so important to me, that the story continues to be told because we need to learn from it,” Sheldon said.
Lessons on mourning flooded the community. “We suffered the hurt and the pain, but it taught the rest of the community how to handle things like this and how to get through things like this. A lot of people learn from your own tragedy…and people watched us and how we dealt with it,” Sheldon said.
To remember the boys, A. L. Piche, the father of Phillip, built the racquetball courts along with a plaque that included the boys’ names. However, as the years dragged on they have deteriorated and had to come down with the new renovation plans.
Though it sparked emotions in the community, Sheldon believes, “The racquetball courts don’t need to stand anymore. What needs to stand is the feeling we get knowing that people care about each other, and people are there to support each other. Selflessness.”
This story has inspired David Haynes, the JROTC Commander. “I was hired here 20 years ago, and the principal at the time made a point to show me that plaque on the building in the back. He told me the story, and it kind of intrigued me because I mowed the grass there every other day. I looked at that plaque for 20 years, and about 10 years ago, Coach Russell and I were looking at it to try to renovate it,” Haynes said.
This has become a mission for Haynes who has decided to dedicate a wall in the 700 building. According to Haynes, the memorial will consist of their plaque along with a picture of each of the boys, a statement from the former principal, Wilbur Robertson, a statement from Sheldon, and a headstone, all behind a picture of Mosquito Lagoon. He hopes to surprise the families with a presentation in October.
To Sheldon this is not just a memorial, but a way to keep them alive even after almost 50 years. “Their spirit is still alive, and they made an impact on the students. I would love to see it on the wall and have people stop and read it and go, wow, people really gave a darn about each other back then, we should too,” Sheldon said.
