Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Opting to go to Vietnam as an enlisted man rather than an officer, Allan Zitella often chose the thornier path, emerging relatively unscathed despite the greatly increased risk.
The youngest of three children, Allan Zitella was born in Chicago to Joseph and Christina (Zipparo) Barrile. His mother died when Zitella was 3 years old and he and his siblings, Richard and JoAnn, were eventually adopted by their maternal great-aunt and -uncle, Anna and James Zitella.
Zitella grew up in the neighborhood around Harlem and North avenues, one block from his maternal grandmother. His adoptive father emigrated from Riano, Italy, and owned Parkside Construction; his adoptive mother worked in the office. Zitella and his brother attended grammar school at Junior Military Academy in Chicago and came home on weekends when they could to enjoy family and their mother’s cooking. “Anything she made was special,” Zitella says. “She made the best ravioli ever.”
After graduating eighth grade, Zitella followed his brother to Onarga Military Academy. He graduated in 1964 and turned down a scholarship to the Citadel. If he had accepted, he would have graduated in 1968 and headed to Vietnam as an officer. “I didn’t want to go as an officer,” he says. “I thought if I was to go, I’d rather go as a soldier.”
Zitella attended Wright Junior College and then Walton Business College while working at his father’s construction business. He was drafted into the Army in March 1969, a time of widespread disillusionment regarding Vietnam. “At first I was upset,” Zitella says. “I just didn’t think it was right, and then I decided, ‘Wait a minute, this is my country. If we don’t protect it, who’s going to protect it?’”
Zitella completed basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Most of the soldiers continued to Advanced Infantry Training, destined for Vietnam, but Zitella was selected to go to Fort Hood, Texas, attached to the 2nd Armored Division. His construction experience qualified him to run heavy equipment. “I had what was called a Civilian Acquired Skill,” says Zitella.
He arrived at headquarters and awaited his assignment. His sergeant, who grew up near Zitella, realized they knew many of the same neighborhood places and asked him, “Do you want to go out there and work on heavy equipment where it’s 100 degrees or, since you got college, do you want to work with me here, in the office?” “I chose office,” Zitella says. “I have to say this: ‘God is always with me.’”
Zitella received printouts from the Pentagon listing names of soldiers selected to deploy to Vietnam or Korea. “I had to make sure that he was eligible to go … there were like 21 things that would keep you out of going to Vietnam or Korea,” he says.
In December 1969, just before Christmas leave, Zitella’s name appeared on the printout. “All you saw on television was the Vietnam War,” he says. “I did not sleep the two weeks I was home.” He returned to base and told the commanding officer to put his name on the list. “I didn’t have to go, but I went,” says Zitella. “You have to look at the guy in the mirror.”
He deployed to Vietnam in early 1970 and was stationed in Long Binh. Once again, he reported to headquarters, assigned to work with heavy equipment, and, when Zitella told them he had worked as a clerk in Texas, the CO replied, “Oh, OK, we’ll find you a job here.”
Zitella’s unit contained fewer than 100 soldiers; approximately 60% were officers and the others were non-commissioned officers. “I worked in one of the most unbelievable companies there were,” Zitella says. “We evaluated equipment under combat conditions.”
American businesses pitched their products to the government. “We had all kinds of things that our unit was testing,” says Zitella. These included shavers, rifles, weapons, radar and rocket launchers. The item was given to a unit with an explanation of how it worked and it was then used during firefights. After a week or so it was returned along with a performance review. “They’d explain, too hard to load, too hard to clean, too hard to keep clean, etc.,” Zitella says. “We would write it so everyone in the Pentagon and everyone else who was looking at it would understand what we were trying to say.”
Zitella remembers incoming rockets his first day as he walked to the mess hall. “At the beginning, every time a rocket went off, you jumped, you got scared,” Zitella says. “After a while, you became complacent.”
In an incident off base, Zitella and some of his buddies were drinking at a bar when one of the guys said, “I don’t feel right.” Someone else said, “Me, too, I’m getting the chills. I don’t know what this is!” The soldiers got up and left. “We got about a couple buildings away and the building blew up,” Zitella says.
He spent six months at Long Binh, and then transferred to Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon, attached to the Military Assistance Command Vietnam Headquarters. Zitella obtained information from the villages crucial to the Paris Peace Talks. Vietnam was split into quarters, one and two were Viet Cong, three and four were friendly. His job was to go into the friendly towns, talk with villagers, gather information and assess the situation. “I had to deal with the villagers in three and four and find out what problems they had that month: being overrun by the VC, people being mutilated, murdered, etc.,” says Zitella.
Zitella often accompanied a photographer taking pictures, documenting the situation. He compiled a weekly report using the information from the village visits and from other soldiers in the field. These reports contained data such as how many villagers were killed, wounded, etc., and were given to the commanding officer and passed along to the Paris Peace Talks.
Zitella completed six months in Saigon, returned to the States and was discharged in January 1971 as Specialist 4th Class. In 2014, he learned he had been promoted to Specialist 5th Class while in Texas, which meant more money and more authority. “And I probably wouldn’t be here to talk to you,” Zitella says. “That’s why I keep thinking, ‘He’s on my side.’”
He returned home and to college but quit after two months. “They loved us, they just treated us so nicely, calling us baby killers and stuff like that,” Zitella says sarcastically.
“I want to say the first year was probably the worst for me.” His buddies felt the same. “We all had the same story. It was almost like Vietnam was hell, but home was worse,” Zitella says, choking up.
He married Brenda Easter and had a successful career in construction. Zitella does not remember details about six months of his Vietnam tour, cannot remember being transferred or working on the Paris Peace Talks. One of his doctors suggests this might be due to the horrific things he witnessed and learned of in the villages.
He reflects and says, “I know I was lucky. My whole tour was that way. Again, I keep saying God was with me.”
The above appears in the November 2024 issue of the print version of Fra Noi. Our gorgeous, monthly magazine contains a veritable feast of news and views, profiles and features, entertainment and culture. To subscribe, click here.
