John Fratangelo

John Fratangelo was born in the Bronx, New York on September 1, 1947. After his Army service in Vietnam, Mr. Fratangelo returned to New York to build his life.

As a young man with a knack for body building, Mr. Fratangelo had the potential to be a professional wrestler and was even offered a chance to be trained for the Mr. America contest. Although tempting, he opted to pursue other dreams.

Mr. Fratangelo graduated from De Witt Clinton High School in 1965 and worked as a plumber until he was drafted by the Army in 1966, completing his basic training for both Basic and AIT at Fort Jackson South Carolina.

At age 19, Mr. Fratangelo was sent to Vietnam and initially served as an M-60 Machine Gunner in a Recon platoon for the First Infantry Division also known as “the Big Red One”. He received the Purple Heart for gunshot wounds and The Silver Star for actions that took place on October 4th, 1967. After five months of hospitalization in Vietnam, Japan and St. Albans, Queens, he was transported to Fort Dix to undergo therapy and to finish his service obligations. Mr. Fratangelo made Sergeant E-5 and was discharged on November 15,1968.

Upon return, Mr. Fratangelo soon joined the Local #2 Plumber’s Union and went through five years of Plumbing Apprenticeship, then worked in New York City for five years. In 1977, he went on to work for General Motors in Tarrytown, until the plant’s closure in 1997.

Recently, Mr. Fratangelo published a book that he began writing in 1970 titled The Last Goodbye, and is dedicated to his cousin Tony, who was killed in Vietnam. He has also stated that he was driven to write this “to bring remembrance and honor to all my friends and all veterans, so they will not be forgotten.”

He currently serves as the Junior Vice Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Chapter 21 of Westchester and Putnam counties, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping veterans in anyway. Mr. Fratangelo is a member of the Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the American legion and Together We Served.

He now resides in Mahopac, New York, where he lives with his third wife and three
West Highland Terriers. He now has seven grandchildren. He is a proud member of
his community and now a welcomed addition to the New York State Veterans Hall
of Fame.