Angelo J. Vaccaro

Died: October 2, 2006

Rank: Corporal

Unit: 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division

Branch: U.S. Army

Corporal Angelo Joseph “Moose” Vaccaro died on October 2, 2006, in Korengal, Afghanistan, while rescuing fellow Soldiers during combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Vaccaro was a medic with the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York. Upon discovering that two of his platoon’s Soldiers had been injured in a firefight, Vac­caro set out to retrieve the men. Reaching the most seriously wounded Soldier, Vac­caro shielded him with his own body, returned suppressive fire to the enemy, and then dragged the wounded trooper to a secure area. While returning to recover another Soldier, however, Vaccaro was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade. On October 14, 2006, Vaccaro was buried at the Deltona Memorial Gardens in Orange City, Florida.