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<p><em>Anthony Arthur “Art” Pattarozzi Jr.</em> was born on February 4, 1940 in Streator, IL to Anthony and Olga Pattarozzi of Oglesby, IL. He was the oldest of five children, with brothers Rich, Mike, and Ed and sister Louise.</p>
<p>At 4 years old, he began his education in a two-room Catholic school in Oglesby. Without many school resources, he focused on the public library, becoming a voracious reader and preferring historical biographies that became a never ending passion.</p>
<p>Sports were always an integral part of his life, officially beginning when he was 9, as he spearheaded a competitive youth baseball team sponsorship from local businesses. Graduating from St. Bede Academy in Peru, IL, he was a star third baseman for three years. While his baseball talents earned him a tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers, his early devotion to the Chicago Cubs never waned. During the year he spent pursuing his USMA appointment after St. Bede, he attended La Salle-Peru-Oglesby Community College, playing backfield football positions. Appointed by Congressman Noah Mason to West Point, Art traveled to the Academy with another local nominee, Walt Menning, and they became lifelong friends. He later met Wayne Downing, a major wrestling competitor and also from Illinois, and they too became lifelong friends.</p>
<p>Entering West Point on July 1, 1958, Art began plebe year with Beast Barracks challenges, as well as athletic abilities and persistence. His sense of humor made the difference many times, like mistakenly oiling his rifle’s mechanical parts with linseed oil meant for its stock. A dislocated shoulder ended his time at third base on the Plebe Baseball Team. Although he began as a fullback on the 150-pound Football Team, he switched to guard, playing with Bob Carroll at the left and right positions and earning numerals plebe year and “A” letters the following three years.</p>
<p>Barely surviving the upper class and Tactical Department, Art doggedly continued to excel in sports. Selected to box future brigade champ Frank Reasoner, formerly a Marine Corps drill instructor and U.S. Navy 7th Fleet Boxing Champ, Art, with his flailing arms and more-heart-than-skill strategy, was able to score a draw in the match. Both received maximum grades. </p>
<p>Two years later, representing Company B-2 in a championship intramural match with Bob Carroll, Art reversed Bob’s take down, defeating him by a 3-2 score. Throughout their lives, Art never let Bob forget the match. </p>
<p>Art graduated on June 6, 1962, was commissioned in the Infantry, and trained that summer at Fort Benning, GA before he deployed for a year to Korea’s DMZ. Commanding a Davy Crockett platoon there, he earned the Army Commendation Medal for superbly training the unit.</p>
<p>Returning to Fort Benning in 1963, he completed the Army Ranger and airborne programs before his Vietnam tour with 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (Air Mobile) in 1966. Under the command of then Colonel Hal Moore near An Khe in the Central Highlands, Art served with distinction, earning the Combat Infantryman Badge.</p>
<p>He resigned from the Army and began a financial career in Chicago via a six-month Wall Street program as a stock trader with Merrill Lynch, Pierce Fenner & Smith. After five years, he joined a friend’s private investment firm for a few years in West Lafayette, IN, took graduate finance courses at Purdue University, then headed back to Chicago. </p>
<p>As Vice President Institutional Sales with Norwest Bank Corporation until the bank shuttered its Chicago office, Art then became a vice president in the Northern Trust Bank’s trust department, while completing an MBA in finance at the University of Chicago. Working at Bear Stearns and a few other financial institutions and marrying Barbara along the way, he eventually operated his own commercial businesses. Developing an interest in computer tech analysis, he was hired as an information technology consultant by Cap Gemini, Ernst & Young, Chicago.</p>
<p>From 2004 to 2009, Art served the U.S. government in Iraq as a financial systems analyst in Baghdad’s Green Zone, assisting U.S. government programs. His 12-18-hour, 6-7-days-a-week schedule included two-week breaks every three months, leading to extensive international travel for him and Barbara. Happily claiming Italy as their favorite country, they attributed it to the diverse natural beauty from the Amalfi Coast to Lake Como’s Bergamo, from Cinque Terre to Venice, to hundreds of historical sites, not just its incomparable food. They have a daughter, Joan Pattarozzi. </p>
<p>Discovering his Agent Orange-related prostate cancer in 2013, Art underwent intense daily radiation for eight weeks at the University of Chicago. After a five-year remission, he entered the battle of his life, including an immunotherapy trial at the university. Nearing positivity in December 2019, his body began withdrawing, though his grit and determination endured. He passed away at home with Barbara on February 13, 2020, four days after his brothers had visited.</p>
<p>In West Point’s finest tradition, Art is remembered for his humor, love of family and friends, sports, biographies, and service to his country. We are truly proud of him. </p>
<p>Well done, spirited American, soldier, partner, father, brother, and friend. Rest in peace.</p>
<p><em>— Wife Barbara and good friend Bob Carroll</em></p>
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