Jim Matchin, 173rd Airborne Brigade Vietnam veteran, gave remarks during a building renaming ceremony on Caserma Ederle, Vicenza, Italy, Oct. 8, 2025.
U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment Eagle renamed their battalion headquarters after U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Thomas E. Vitagliano. He was killed on Jan. 17, 2005 when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his position in Ramadi, Iraq. Vitagliano was 33 when he died and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment. 173rd Airborne Brigade paratroopers also recognized fallen GWOT veterans.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapidly deployable forces to the...
