Darron F. Zicchino was born October 9, 1948. He graduated from East Rutherford High School in 1966. He enjoyed hunting, boating and studying the solar system. After graduation, he went to work for AT&T.

Zicchino enlisted in the US Army from Carlstadt, NJ, following in his father and brother’s footsteps. AT&T put his job on hold and offered to send him to college when he returned.

Zicchino completed his basic training at Fort Dix, NJ. He was assigned to Airborne School at Fort Benning, GA. Upon earning his wings, he was attached to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. He attained the rank of Specialist 4 (SP4).

In the fall of 1968, Zicchino was sent to Vietnam as part of the 1st Cavalry Air Mobile Division.

He was killed in action on January 28, 1969.

The following is an excerpt from The Record dated Monday, January 29, 1973:
Joseph Zicchino had advised his son Darron, 20, against further service in the Army when he visited his son in a hospital in Japan, where the boy was recovering from wounds received in Vietnam.

But the boy told his father he believed he could help the people of Vietnam. He personally helped by sharing his food from home with some Vietnamese.

“After a while,” his father said, “he grew calloused of our role in Vietnam. He couldn’t stand to see so many of our guys shot over there. He felt there must be another way to get it over with fast.”

Sources: Bruce Bartlett (brother-in-law), The Record, and NJVVMF.
12/17/2024