Indiana Military has compiled information on Providence native Peter Frank Fegatelli, who perished in Vietnam at the tender age of 19 while serving with the Army National Guard–including the notification letter to his parents and the family’s reactions in a ProJo article decades later.
Today, his memory lives on in Peter Fegatelli Memorial Square in Providence. Stumbling on this modest sign and plaque with two small, neat American flags tucked into a quiet corner just down the street from Rhode Island College a few years ago, I’d been immediately curious.
I have a number of relatives and family friends both living and dead who’ve served in the military, but somehow, each Veterans Day, I end up thinking of this Rhode Island stranger who died years before I was born so far from home. It helps to put a face on wars that are so removed from normal, everyday life.