08/13/2021
On Saturday, August 28, 2021, Veterans Matter Livestream Broadcast will be back online from 3pm-5pm.
Our guests: Congressman Jeff Van Drew,
US Army and Vietnam Veteran Joe Ballardo, &
USMC & Vietnam Veteran Marco Polo Smigliani.
Joe was drafted into the Army in October 1966 and was sent to Ft. Hood, Texas for basic training and advanced individual training. On August 18, 1967, he was sent to Vietnam and was assigned to Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion (Twin 40 mm - Automatic Weapons – Self Propelled) 44th Artillery, and better known as “Dusters”. Although Joe was in the Army, his unit was deployed to Vietnam as the 3rd Marine Division’s mobile combat fighting team and body recovery unit under Marine control. His area of operation in Vietnam was along the DMZ, fighting primarily in the northern mountain regions from Camp J.J. Carroll to Khe Sanh. The 1st Battalion 44th Artillery was one of the most decorated combat units in Vietnam.
Joe and his crew of Duster C131 hold the distinct honor of twenty-seven combat missions and being the last to leave the finally abandoned Khe Sanh Combat Base. Joe was discharged on August 18, 1968 with the rank of Sergeant E5.
Joe’s combat medals include the Bronze Star w/Valor, Purple Hearts, Gallantry Cross with Palm, Marine Combat Action Ribbon, Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, both the Army and Marine Presidential Unit Citations, Valorous Unit Awards, and Meritorious Unit Commendations.
He is the New Jersey State Commander of Military Order of the Purple Heart and Middlesex County Commander.
He was an original member of Victims of Agent Orange, the predecessor of the first Agent Orange Commission. His Agent Orange group was the moving force to have the U.S. Congress recognize and treat the medical needs of Vietnam Veterans. They discovered fifty carcinogenic illnesses related to the eight various chemical defoliants sprayed in Vietnam. He received the Army Artillery Saint Barbara’s Award in 2017.
Marco has been a guest on our broadcast (both radio and livestream)many times and his love of his adopted country is a story unto itself.
Congressman Van Drew is a friend to veterans and has done much to advance the needs of them in Congressional District #2.
