Tom Tataro
With M60 machine gun, getting ready for a mission from Chu Lai.
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Click HERE to listen to full interview, Interviewed by Hannah Zahn on 7/24/2019. |
Thomas A. Tataro grew up in Northampton, MA, and has lived in Hatfield, MA, since 1988. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 20 after finishing two years of community college. The day he signed up, he went home to find his draft notice sitting on the table.
Tom began his tour in Vietnam in April 1970 in Chu Lai, at age 21. He served as a helicopter crew chief/gunner with B Company, 123rd Combat Aviation Battalion, 23rd Infantry Division (Americal).
He was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant E-5. Tom has served as Commander of the Hatfield American Legion Post 344 for the past 10 years, and has been a member since 2004.
*Songs that remind Tom of his time in Vietnam: Leaving on a Jet Plane, Country Roads, We Gotta Get Out of This Place
Images courtesy of Tom Tataro and the Hatfield Historical Museum.
