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was transferred to the 1st Armored Cavalry, when the 11th was disbanded. I was
the Executive Officer of C Troop, and met up with him again upon his assignment to
C Troop. I made him the Troop Armorer in an attempt to keep my friend safe.
Unfortunately, my efforts were in vain when he was hit while in the Troop rear area
in Khe Sanh during the Lam Son operation. Thirty two years later I have not
forgotten him, and never will.

From a friend who served with Tom in Vietnam,
Carl Wronko

29 Apr 2004

Tommy, I will always love you!!!
I never stopped.

From a friend,
Linda Belmonte

14 Mar 2005

Tommy was my nephew and we lived in the same two family dwelling on Caroline
Street, Staten Island, N.Y., until 1953 when I moved to California. We saw each
other many times in both places over the years.

My husband and I saw him last in San Francisco May 1970 when he was shipped to
Vietnam, along with his buddy Bob Van Hyfte. Bob ended up accompanying
Tommy's body home to Staten Island and I saw them both again at the funeral.
Bob has since passed away from Lou Gherich's disease

In the last letter I received from Tommy he spoke of possibly getting an R&R.

His death was devastating to our family, and of course to his parents Mary (my
sister) and Tom Valerio. They moved to Glendale, Arizona to get away from the
memories of him at home. He was their only child and the only war casualty we
ever had in our family.

Tommy achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. His favorite character was "Snoopy" ,
which he had painted on his red car and I think he also named his tank the same.

It still hurts to think about him.

From his aunt,
Mrs. Rose Haupt

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