Matthew DeGregorio enlisted in the military at the height of the Vietnam War. Now he is a member of the state Senate Veterans Hall of Fame.
DeGregorio joined the Air Force in 1968 and served until 1972. He was an aircraft maintenance and crew chief with the 602nd Fighter Squadron.
“We served three different areas, which they called the Secret War, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and we kept those planes flying,” he said. “Every one of us had an individual job to do.”
DeGregorio would ensure that planes were mechanically sound and would sign off on jobs performed on aircraft throughout the region.
“Sometimes the pilots would ask me to take a ride with them to make sure the plane was OK,” he said.
DeGregorio earned the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and Air Force Good Conduct Medal for his service.
In July, state Sen. Steve Rhoads presented DeGregorio with the honor of being inducted into the state Senate Veterans Hall of Fame, something that the veteran said was a surprise.
“I’m deeply honored to be recognized for this,” DeGregorio said. “It’s like I won an Academy Award.”
The induction recognized DeGregorio’s time as an active military member as well as his 50 years of work with the VFW Post 9592 in Levittown.
He has been an active member of the post in Levittown since 1975, and he recently received a pin for 50 years of service.
“Our main goal is to help all the veterans,” he said. “We go all-out with the community and for our veterans.”
DeGregorio served as the post commander from 2016 to 2018, leading efforts to support hospitalized veterans, ship care packages to deployed troops, assist military families, mentor youth and champion veteran causes at every level of government.
DeGregorio was born in Brooklyn and moved to Levittown when he was 7 years old, where he still lives today. He had a job lined up for him with the Town of Hempstead in its maintenance department upon returning from service.
After working for the town, DeGregorio served as a bodyguard and aide to a county court judge at the Nassau County Supreme Court for over three decades before going to work in the court’s clerk’s office.
