Vietnam experience inspired him to help veterans

Vietnam experience inspired him to help veterans
By Jerry Vondas, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Sam Saccamango experienced the rigors of military life as a civilian employee repairing Army helicopters damaged in Vietnam.

"Because of his experiences in Vietnam, Sam understood the problems of numerous veterans who found it difficult to return to civilian life," said his wife, Shirley Stauffer Saccamango, a retired nurse whom he married in 1998.

"He was always ready to reach out to anyone who needed his help," she said.

Samuel R. Saccamango of Forest Hills died on Monday, May 4, 2009, in his home. He was 65.

After a career in restaurant management, Mr. Saccamango followed his desire to help veterans and at the age of 50 went to the University of Pittsburgh for degrees in social work.

He got a master's degree and in 1999 went to work in the domiciliary program for homeless veterans at the Veterans Administration hospitals in O'Hara and Lincoln-Lemington.

The program, his wife said, is geared to finding housing for homeless veterans and providing them with medical and psychological care, counseling and employment to help them get back on their feet.

"Sam accepted you for what you were, whether you were a veteran, a friend or someone he just met," she said.
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Vietnam experience inspired him to help veterans