Gibson congratulates DeRuggiero
WASHINGTON – Congressman Christopher Gibson (R, NY19) awarded the Silver Star, the third-highest military decoration for valor, to Vietnam veteran Stanley DeRuggiero, Jr. of Austerlitz during a ceremony Thursday in Washington, DC.
DeRuggiero, who served with the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade, rescued three badly wounded paratroopers while exchanging fire with the enemy near Bao Loc, Vietnam on June 17, 1968. He previously received the Bronze Star with V Device for his actions on that day, but due to the level of gallantry he exhibited, his former company commander successfully petitioned the military to upgrade the award to Silver Star.
“As a fellow combat veteran, I am especially proud to have the opportunity to present the Silver Star to Stanley DeRuggiero, who put his life on the line to safeguard his troopers in the most dangerous conditions imaginable,” Gibson said. “We are forever in his debt.”
DeRuggiero, who grew up in Yonkers, is a retired carpenter, who lives in Columbia County with his 90-year-old father, Stanley Sr., who served in the Marine Corps during World War II.
