Pat Gualtieri, Vietnam vet and longtime producer of ‘America’s Parade,’ dies at 70
Patrick L. Gualtieri, a U.S. Army veteran of Vietnam who helped build a struggling New York City Veterans Day Parade into America’s Parade, the largest celebration of service in America, died July 21 after a short illness.
Pat Gualtieri, 70, was born and raised in Brooklyn. He served in the U.S. Army from 1966-68, including a one-year tour in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive.
He once described lying in the jungle watching as “Puff,” an American gunship, rained fire on North Vietnemese regulars during Tet. “I had mixed feelings, happy to be alive, yet saddened that so many would die.”