Army Staff Sgt. Thomas E. Vitagliano

Died January 17, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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33, of New Haven, Conn.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Casey, Korea; killed Jan. 17 when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his position in Ramadi, Iraq. Also killed was Army Pfc. George R. Geer.

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New Haven soldier killed in Iraq

Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. — A 33-year-old soldier from New Haven has been killed in Iraq, the Defense Department announced Wednesday.

Staff Sgt. Thomas E. Vitagliano died Monday in Ramadi, Iraq, when a bomb in a vehicle detonated near his position, the Defense Department said. Also killed was Pfc. George Geer, 27 of Cortez, Colo. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, based out of Camp Casey, South Korea.

Vitagliano, who grew up in Orange and West Haven, was the 23rd person with Connecticut ties killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2002, and the first this year.

John Hoffman, deacon at Holy Infant Church in Orange where Vitagliano’s family worships, said Vitagliano enlisted in the military at age 17.

“It’s about as young as you get,” he said. “No one loved the military life more than him. As a little kid he loved the military. It was a perfect home for him.”

Hoffman, who is a family spokesman, described Vitagliano as “a great guy, fun-loving. Everybody’s best friend if you knew him for 10 minutes.”

The family issued a statement through Hoffman.

“Tommy’s life revolved around family — his family here at home, and his military family with which he served and shared the bonds of family,” they said. “His family asks for your prayers for themselves, and for all families who have lost loved ones in the service of their country.”

They added: “And pray for peace.”

Vitagliano’s body may be returned home to Connecticut as early as next week after being taken to a facility in Dover, Del. The family is waiting for his remains to arrive before they plan services.

Stars and Stripes, which covers the military, ran a story on Tuesday that described what Vitagliano’s unit has been doing for the past four months in Ramadi. The report said the unit has been working on civil projects, handing out food and trying to avoid suicide bombers.

The soldiers have suffered frequent attacks from insurgents in the city of 400,000, which is in the volatile region sometimes called the Sunni Triangle. At least 10 soldiers in Vitagliano’s battalion have been killed in Ramadi since November.

Vitagliano went to Notre Dame High School in West Haven until his sophomore year, then transferred to a military school. He went on to join the Marines.

Anthony DiBiase, commanding officer of the U.S. Marine Cadets Company A, 1st Battalion, said Vitagliano was one of his cadets and moved up the ranks to sergeant in June 1990. He fought in the first Iraq war, Desert Storm, in 1991, as part of the 25th Marine’s Charlie Company.

He later left the Marines, worked briefly for American Express and returned to teach Marine cadets for a year. He then joined the Army.

Family members told WTNH-TV that Vitagliano planned to work for his father’s real estate business in New Haven after the Army. His father also served in the military.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell ordered state flags to be lowered to half-staff until sundown on the day of Vitagliano’s funeral, which has not yet been set.

“Staff Sgt. Vitagliano served America with valor and courage,” Rell said in a statement. “On behalf of the people of Connecticut, I extend my deepest sympathies to his family and friends. Staff Sgt. Vitagliano made the ultimate sacrifice to protect and preserve our freedom.”

Vitagliano was not married and did not have children.

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Soldier killed in Iraq buried with full military honors

WEST HAVEN, Conn. — About 300 mourners gathered Thursday to remember the life of Staff Sgt. Thomas E. Vitagliano, who died last week in a bombing in Iraq while living the military life he dreamed about as a child.

Vitagliano, 33, of New Haven, was buried with full military honors at St. Lawrence Cemetery in West Haven following a funeral service at Holy Infant Roman Catholic Church in Orange.

After a 25-vehicle cortege led by a military and police motorcade arrived at the church, six Marine reservist pallbearers carried Vitagliano’s flag-draped casket inside for a private Mass.

At the church, military officials presented Vitagliano’s family with four medals awarded posthumously to Vitagliano, said Lt. Col. John Whitford, a spokesman for the Connecticut National Guard. The medals included the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal and Combat Infantry Badge.

“He touched a lot of people,” Whitford said.

The church deacon, John Hoffman, quoted family members in a eulogy.

“Even in all our pain, we can’t help but remember his smile. He had a childlike side that was contagious, magnetic, bigger than life,” he said.

Hoffman quoted Vitagliano’s mother, Inger Lise Severine, as saying, “You always looked out for the underdog ... I thank you for trying to make this a better world.”

The soldier’s father, Gaetano Vitagliano, added, “My pride in who you are cannot be hidden, even in my heartbreak.”

At the cemetery, Army reservists presented American flags to Vitagliano’s mother and father, who once served in the military.

Vitagliano was killed Jan. 17 when a car bomb detonated near his position in Ramadi, Iraq. Pfc. George Geer, 27 of Cortez, Colo., also was killed. He and Vitagliano were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, based at Camp Casey, South Korea.

During the funeral, an e-mail from Col. Gary Patton, Vitagliano’s brigade commander, was read. It describes Vitagliano’s bravery just before his death.

Patton wrote that when Vitagliano realized an approaching vehicle was manned by a suicide bomber, he pushed one soldier to safety. The soldier was injured in the attack, but because of Vitagliano’s actions, he will live, Patton said. “Even in his last breath and action Tommy was taking care of his soldiers,” he said.

Vitagliano was the 23rd person with Connecticut ties killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2002, and the first this year.

Stars and Stripes, which covers the military, reported that Vitagliano’s unit has been working on civil projects, handing out food and trying to avoid suicide bombers in Ramadi.

The soldiers have suffered frequent attacks from insurgents in the city of 400,000, which is in the volatile region sometimes called the Sunni Triangle. At least 10 soldiers in Vitagliano’s battalion have been killed in Ramadi since November.

Vitagliano, who grew up in Orange and West Haven, went to Notre Dame High School in West Haven until his sophomore year, then transferred to a military school. He went on to join the Marines and fight in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

He later left the Marines, worked briefly for American Express and returned to teach Marine cadets for a year. He then joined the Army.

Associated Press

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Sergeant who saved lives remembered as ‘Superman’

By Hugo Kugiya

Associated Press

Thomas Vitagliano was Sgt. V to some, Superman to others, Kindergarten Sarge to a few who had occasion to notice his rapport with small children. To his nephews and nieces the 6-foot-4, 240-pound uncle was a moveable jungle gym. All four would grab a leg, or climb up an arm as Vitagliano walked, all of them clinging to him like he was a carnival ride.

He joined the Marines after one year of college. He enlisted in the Army five years later, joining the Rangers. He was born to the military, his family said. He was a military history buff growing up, played military board games and attended military academy.

But at age 33 he was looking at retirement when he might work in his family’s real estate business and start a family of his own.

Superman was a principled guy who showed his heart with actions more than words. He did not exactly have “the gift of gab,” said his wife, Nerina Giolli.

When the collection plate came his way at church, he always left a roll of bills, never letting Nerina see exactly how much he gave. When others passed by a stalled car with an elderly driver, he stopped, pushed the vehicle into a lot and gave it a jump start.

While on patrol in Ramadi on Jan. 17, he noticed with suspicion a taxi circling the area oddly, apparently headed toward a group of 36 soldiers, said his sister, Tammy Ronan. Vitagliano approached the taxi with two other men. Realizing it was a suicide attack, he tried to protect and shield his men, and lost his life.

For this he was awarded the Silver Star.

“He surprised that car bomber,” Ronan said. “That bomb wasn’t intended for him. The car was heading up the street for the other guys. If it wasn’t for my brother, 36 men would have died.”

At that moment, and always, he was Superman.