Honoring My Father-in-law, SP4 Anthony “Tony” DeRiggi

On April 27, 1942, in Orange, New Jersey, Joseph DeRiggi and his then-wife Roxanne welcomed a son whom they named Anthony J. DeRiggi — though everyone who loved him simply called him Tony. The early years of Tony’s life were marked by change: Joseph and Roxanne divorced while he was young, and Joseph later remarried and built another family. Those shifts in home and family shaped Tony’s youth in ways both challenging and defining.

Yet Tony carried forward with quiet resolve. In 1964, as the Vietnam War intensified, he freely enlisted in the U.S. Army — not because he was drafted, but because he wanted to serve. His choice to volunteer in a time of conflict speaks to a character of courage, conviction, and honor.

In early 1966, just before his deployment, Tony fell in love with Judith “Judy” Sachs, a young woman from New York. Their relationship was tender and short-lived, a moment of light in an uncertain time. Before Tony left for Vietnam, they learned that Judy was pregnant — something Tony tragically never lived to know. That child, their son Josh, would be born a month after Tony’s death, never having met his father but forever carrying his spirit.

From the historical records, we know that Tony served as a Specialist Fourth Class (SP4) in Company B, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was trained as a light-weapons infantryman, a role that placed him directly in the heart of battle. During his brief but valiant service, he earned multiple commendations: the Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Gallantry Cross (Unit Citation), and Vietnamese Civic Action Medal (1st Class).

Tragically, on September 8, 1966, Tony was killed in action in Bình Dương, Vietnam, at just 24 years old. His death was the result of multiple fragmentation wounds sustained from a grenade during some of the most intense fighting of the war. He was later laid to rest with full honors at Gate of Heaven Cemetery & Mausoleum in New Jersey.

Though his life was cut short, Tony’s legacy continues to echo through time. He left behind a son — Josh — who, for much of his life, did not know the identity of his biological father or the full story of his heroism. But through perseverance, research, and the unearthing of old records, that mystery has finally been resolved. Today, Josh and our family can speak Tony’s name with pride and gratitude, knowing the truth of who he was: a brave young man who gave everything in service to others.

Tony’s story is both deeply personal and profoundly universal. It reminds us that behind every name etched on a monument is a life full of dreams, humor, love, and promise — and families forever changed by the ripple of war. His sacrifice underscores the immense cost of conflict, not just in lives lost on battlefields, but in generations of silence, grief, and unanswered questions that follow.

Tony’s memory lives on not only through his son but also through his family. His sister Dolores named her daughter Toni after him — a living namesake who carries his spirit forward. Even though they never met — a bond that transcends time and distance, linking past and present in love and remembrance.

As I reflect on Tony’s life and the countless others who served and died in wars across history, I can’t help but believe we must do better as a species. We must strive for a world where war is no longer necessary — where weapons of mass destruction are dismantled and destroyed, and where diplomacy, empathy, and understanding replace violence and division. No family should have to lose a loved one to the machinery of war. No nation should measure its strength by its capacity for destruction. Humanity’s true greatness will be found not in conquest, but in compassion — in our shared ability to choose peace over power, love over fear, and unity over conflict.

May Specialist Anthony J. “Tony” DeRiggi’s memory — and the memory of all who have fallen — inspire us to build that better world.