John P. Preziosi was born on August 22, 1947. His home of record is Elmwood Park, NJ. John graduated from East Paterson High School (now Elmwood Park High School) in 1965.
He served in the US Marine Corps and attained the rank of Sergeant (SGT).
John had returned home from Vietnam in August 1967, after completing his first tour of duty. He volunteered to return to Vietnam in order to realize his dream. With 17 service friends, the 20-year old Marine had built a four-room schoolhouse. The group wanted to build another.
Preziosi, dubbed “Little John” because he stood only 5 feet 5 inches and weighed 130 pounds, had decided that the best way to win the war was by banding together with other Marines to educate the villagers. Their group was called Echo Two. They taught the villagers about insecticides, modern irrigation practices and ways to dig wells to keep water potable. The four-room schoolhouse that he and the other members of Echo Two built was funded by money collected through the Marine Corps by public solicitation. Their work was recognized by Life Magazine.
Preziosi was killed in action on January 31, 1968, by small arms fire while leading a night patrol outside Da Nang.
After his death, the Mayor’s Fund Coordinating Committee of East Paterson, NJ, collected money to build another school to honor Preziosi’s dream. The new two-room schoolhouse, built near the original, was dedicated in John’s name.
The following is an excerpt from The Record dated Monday, January 29, 1973:
When Sgt. John Preziosi came home from Vietnam in August 1967, he had completed his tour of duty. But he volunteered to return to realize a dream. With 17 service friends, the 20-year-old Marine had built a four-room schoolhouse. The group wanted to build another. Sgt. Preziosi was leading a night patrol outside Da Nang on Jan. 31, 1968, when he was killed by small arms fire. His father, Emil Preziosi, an East Paterson mailman, led the townspeople and raised money for a two-room school to be built in Xuan Duong hamlet in memory of Sgt. Preziosi.
Sources: Newspaper clippings and NJVVMF.
8/21/07
