Staten Island veteran gets Purple Heart for injury received in Viet Nam: 'It's like a closure'

For the past 42 years, Anthony Carraturo buried painful memories of fighting in Vietnam.

He got married, had a daughter and a 25-year career with the city’s Sanitation Department.

"I just didn’t want to think about that place anymore," said the 63-year-old Staten Island man.

Those battlefield memories came alive again Monday when Carraturo was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in combat on April 2, 1967.

"It’s something that was a long time overdue," said Carraturo after accepting his medal from Rep. Michael McMahon at a ceremony in New Dorp. "It’s like a closure."

Carraturo was just 19 when he was injured by enemy fire while serving with the 11th Armored Cavalry‘s Blackhorse unit, a search-and-destroy reconnaissance team. Heavy gunfire knocked Carraturo unconscious. He was treated for head trauma at a field hospital and went back into battle after just 10 days, spending a total of 13 months in combat.

"Certain things about Vietnam are very private and I don’t like to talk about it," he said.

Carraturo’s unit was met with protests when they came home – something that hurt him deeply. "I didn’t choose to go over there," he said. "I was drafted and I did what I had to do."

He visited a VA hospital in New Mexico in the 1980s to undergo tests for side effects of Agent Orange, but was "disillusioned" and walked out.

So, like thousands of other Vietnam veterans, Carraturo carried his pain with a silent dignity for four decades. He never applied for benefits or asked about any medals.

Then images of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan made Vietnam come alive again.

"That’s what triggered this," he said of his quest for his medals. "I started looking at the news and it brought back memories. I feel very sorry for these guys – they’re 19, just like me. It’s very hard for a kid, 18, 19 years old to come home and be normal. It doesn’t work."

His daughter Nicole, 34, helped him file for veterans benefits and contacted McMahon’s office about his Purple Heart.

"I’m so proud of him," she said.

With his family and friends, including his wife, Mary Anne, and his 89-year-old mother, Yolanda, by his side, Carraturo accepted his Purple Heart and five other medals.The pain of Vietnam is still there.

"It’ll be there forever," he said, holding his Purple Heart. "But this makes it a little better."

sgaskell@nydailynews.com

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