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Biography of Robert F. Pulliza
ST. DOMINIC’S HOME FOR BOYS & GIRLS 1948-1952
ST AGNES HOME FOR BOYS 1952-1953
I was one of the boys from Saint Agnes who would have graduated
from Tappan Zee High School with the class of 1956. You will find me
in the 1953 year book as a sophomore. I was on the Tappan Zee football
team (played 1st string right guard and nose guard) and had been
selected for the 1st string all county football team in 1953. Mary Ann
Rechtorovic and I were dating.
Unfortunately, my Father obtained a court order in December, 1953
to have my brother Peter and I released from Saint Agnes into his
custody. He took us to New York City to live. Later that month, I
ran away from home and subsequently went to live at Saint Vincent’s
Home for Boys in Brooklyn.
I enlisted in the Army in October, 1956, having never finished
high school. I went through basic training at Fort Dix, NJ, combat
engineer training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO and was assigned to an
engineer unit in Georgia. In August, 1957, I was transferred to an
engineer unit in Germany where I served until February, 1961.
Returning to the States, I was assigned to a post in Virginia. In
1962, after having earned a GED, I applied for and was selected to
attend Infantry Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Benning,
Georgia.
After receiving a commission as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry
in early 1963, I was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division at Fort
Riley, Kansas, which was destined for a 6 month rotation to Germany
for training as a Platoon Leader. We left for Germany in June of 1963
expecting to be home by Christmas of the same year. When President
Kennedy was assassinated in November, 1963, my unit was deployed on
the East German border in anticipation of an attack by the Warsaw Pact
and we did not get home until February, 1964.
By 1965, I was a 1st Lieutenant and was reassigned to the 1st
Cavalry Division in Korea as an Infantry Battalion Logistics Officer.
Retuning to Fort Riley, I was assigned to the newly activated 9th
Infantry Division as a Company Commander. By this time I had been
promoted to Captain. We trained from April, 1966 to December 1966
when we left for Vietnam. I stayed with the company until May, 1966
than went on to be a staff officer.
Leaving Vietnam in December, 1967, I was sent to the Infantry
Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning and than to the Dominican
Republic as an Infantry Brigade Advisor to the Dominican Army. While
in the Dominican Republic, I was promoted to Major and once again, was
assigned to Vietnam as a Regimental Advisor to the Vietnamese Army.
While in Vietnam, I applied for and was accepted for a Boot Strap
program which allowed me to attend college full time for up to a year
to obtain a degree. I started taking college courses before I was
commissioned and continued to do so when I could so I only had 6
months to go when I applied for the program. I attended the
University of Nebraska at Omaha and earned a degree in Military
Science and Business in 1973.
From school, I was assigned to be the Executive Officer at the
Army Recruiting District at Fort Hamilton, New York. Mary Ann and I
got back together again in 1974 while I was stationed in New York and
we were married in August, 1975. We were transferred to Fort
Sheridan, IL where I earned my Master’s Degree in Public
Administration and Management. We finished our military service at
Fort Sheridan, Illinois and moved back to New York where we started
our own business as small business consultants. Later, I was
recruited to be a Vice President for the franchisor and we moved from
New York to Maryland.
In 1994, Mary Ann and I moved to our newly built home in Spring
Hill, Florida and have lived here ever since. I have 3 children from a
previous marriage and Mary Ann and I have a daughter. We have also
been blessed with three granddaughters.
My military awards include the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the
Bronze Star with three oak leaf clusters, Meritorious Service Medal,
Air Medal with 4 oak leaf clusters and various other awards for
service in Korea and Vietnam.
In September 2006, my brother Peter W. Pulliza passed away. He was
67 years old. He had been at St Agnes for 6 months in 1953.
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