TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. —
A celebrated Vietnam hero and former Tinker Air Pressure Base Defender was honored for his service by the Oklahoma Navy Corridor of Fame Oct. 28.
Senior Grasp Sgt. (Ret.) William “Pete” Piazza was inducted into the group’s ranks each for his service in the course of the Vietnam Struggle in addition to his service to the Safety Forces neighborhood later in life.
Members of the Tinker neighborhood will acknowledge Piazza’s title as considered one of Tinker AFB’s entry gates, named for him throughout a ceremony held in 2014.
Piazza served three excursions in Vietnam. Throughout his second tour, then-Employees Sgt. Piazza was NCO in Cost of the third Safety Police Squadron’s “C” Flight Safety Resupply Workforce at Bien Hoa Air Base, close to Saigon.
North Vietnamese forces launched a rocket and floor assault Jan. 31, 1968, as a part of the Tet Offensive. Piazza drove via machine gun and sniper fireplace to resupply the defenders who have been shortly operating out of ammunition.
After the officer-in-charge was killed, Piazza assumed command and rallied along with his troops in a present of stamina and drive whereas they counter-attacked throughout an eight-hour assault. The place was held and in the long run numbers of lives and lots of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in plane and provides have been spared.
He was awarded the Silver Star shortly thereafter and the third SPS obtained the Air Pressure Excellent Unit Award with Fight “V” System.
Piazza later served at Tinker AFB as a Safety Part Superintendent for the 2854th Safety Police Squadron. Retiring from the Air Pressure in 1988, Piazza labored as a Police Officer for the VA Medical Middle till he retired in 1999.
He was the president of the Vietnam Safety Police Affiliation and in 2001, Piazza established the Oklahoma “Heartland” Chapter of the Air Pressure Safety Police Affiliation.
