Class of 1968 - In Memoriam

PETER PROSERPI

26 September, 1949 – 8 August, 1980

Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden, einen besser’n findst du nit
(I had a comrade, a better one you could not find)

German song in honor of comrades lost in war

It is truly a privilege and an honor to meet someone whose joy for life, idealism, integrity, loyalty and love are qualities so strong that they brighten the lives and spirits of all with whom they come in contact.  Such a person was Peter Proserpi. 

Pete was born in Switzerland on the 26^th of September 1949 and moved to Sacramento with his parents, Erika and Walter Proserpi when he was 11 months old.   In Sacramento he attended Encina High School, where he was involved with a variety of activities, including Varsity track, Varsity Cross-Country, Student Council, German Club, and Le Cercle Francais. Pete also worked out in boxing camp with Pete Ranzany and took part in the Golden Gloves Boxing Championship one year. 

One of his classmates from Encina High captured the essence of Pete’s spirit when he wrote “…I have recollections of him as a very kind and unassuming individual whom I took an instant liking to.  He seemed to move between classes with ease…never locking into one group, but possessing a grace and a charm that allowed him to move among all classes, cared for by all to whom he came in contact.”  Another classmate, after reading my memorial-in-progress to Pete wrote “…I don’t know you but just wanted to tell you that what you wrote about Pete Proserpi was beautiful and right on…Thank you for this lovely thought.  He so deserved it.”

I had the good fortune to meet Pete when he went through  Military Police Training at Fort Gordon, Georgia in 1970, after which he went through Correctional Specialist Training with the US Army Military Police School at Fort Gordon.  After training, he spent a few months with the 30^th Military Police Battalion at the Presidio of San Francisco, where I  visited him on my way to Korea.   He volunteered for duty in Vietnam and was reassigned to Company C, 720^th Military Police Battalion.  I’m trying to get more information about his time in Vietnam, but do have his records which reflect that per Permanent Orders 65-2 dated 6 October 1976, Pete was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for period of service 17 April 1971.  His citation reads

SPECIALIST FOUR PETER PROSERPI, UNITED STATES ARMY

Meritorious achievement while driving the lead escort vehicle, a V-100 armored car, for a resupply convoy to a firebase at Katum along a narrow dirt road on 17 April 1971.  The road was declared cleared by ARVN troops responsible for conducting a mine detector sweep.  The convoy was barely underway when a truck behind Specialist Proserpi’s vehicle hit a land mine injuring two soldiers.  Specialist Proserpi assisted in their MEDEVAC after which the convoy continued with Specialist Proserpi visually searching for signs of land mines as he drove.  He located seven additional mines, which he marked to enable the rest of the convoy to pass safely.  After closing into Katum, Specialist Proserpi, with several other men, drove back down the road to the marked mines and destroyed them with explosives.  His outstanding meritorious achievement was instrumental in preventing additional casualties, destruction of Army vehicles, and accomplishment of the mission and reflect great credit upon him and the United States Army.

Pete’s tour of duty in Vietnam was from 8 March 1971 through 27 January 1972.  He was promoted to Sergeant and outprocessed at Fort George Meade, Maryland, near to where his wife lived. 

The medals which he was awarded are reflected in his military records:  Bronze Star Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with 3 Bronze Stars, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon with 1960 device, Expert Badge with Auto Rifle, Pistol and Rifle bars, and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm.

After leaving active duty, Pete and his wife, Teresa, moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where he trained as a pastry chef.  I considered myself blessed when he and his wife visited me in Heidelberg where I was stationed.  Pete and his wife eventually returned and settled in at South Lake Tahoe, California, and Pete joined the 126^th Medical Transportation Company, California National Guard at Mather AFB in California and worked as a pastry chef in South Lake Tahoe.

I have been able to fill out the tragic details of the last years of Pete’s life from articles in both the Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee.  It is a typical Agent Orange story, where Pete, while on duty with the National Guard, hit his leg with a car door while picking up his Executive Officer.  Severe pain ensued, but during the six months of care at a military hospital, all he was told was that he suffered from a chipped bone and muscle inflammation.  After six months of no improvement, Pete went to Stanford University Medical Center where they found a 4.5 lb cancerous tumor. The doctors were able to remove the tumor, but also had to amputate his leg.    He bore that setback with his characteristic bravery. Pete received very little support from the administration, and at one point, in his wheelchair, chained himself to a flagpole in Sacramento to protest the indifference of the military and the administration.  In speaking recently to an official of the California National Guard, I was told that probably as a result of Pete’s protests,  the laws have been changed and Guardsmen and reservists are treated much better now. The cancer spread to his liver and his lungs and Pete passed away on August 8^th, 1980. The cancer claimed his life, but could never claim his spirit.

Another of his classmates has written me “…Pete was a great guy and a comedian as well.  He had a knack for making people laugh.  He was a friend to all.  I joined the Navy in 1975. When I was discharged in 1979 and came back home to Sacramento, there was Pete on the evening news protesting Agent Orange.  Though I never did get to see him before he passed away I have always considered myself very lucky to have known him.  I do believe there are a great many ex-military who served in Vietnam who owe their health today to the efforts initiated by Pete so long ago.”

Pete was survived by his loving family, his wife Teresa, his daughter Angelisa, and his sons Sonio (who was 16 months old) and Mario (who was 3 months old). 

Like Corporal Pat Tillman, Pete was motivated by his love of family, friends, and country.  He had a desire and commitment to make the world a better place.  Pete was an inspiration to all who knew him. Even as the years have passed and we have been blessed by others who have touched our hearts, Pete’s spirit endures. Although sorely missed, Pete’s spirit lives on in our hearts and his strength and courage continues to inspire us.

Wilfred Gibson, a poet who survived the First World War, wrote: 

          We who are left, how shall we look again

          Happily on the sun or feel the rain

          Without remembering how they who went

          Ungrudgingly and spent

          Their lives for us loved, too, the sun and rain?

          A bird among the rain-wet lilac sings –
          But we, how shall we turn to little things
          And listen to the birds and winds and streams
          Made holy by their dreams,
          Nor feel the heart-break in the heart of things?

Please let me know if you have any stories or photos you would like to share about Pete.  Thank you.

Wolf Beatty
wolf.fritsche@drakealumni.net

Here is a link to the Personal biography for SGT Peter Proserpi on the 720th Military Police Battalion Reunion Association Vietnam History Project
www.720mpreunion.org/history/biography_1966_1972/proserpi_peter/proserpi_peter.html