Man, 64, was medic in Vietnam, friend says
Boston Globe
By Zachary T. Sampson
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
AUGUST 10, 2014
REVERE — Arthur Fitzmeyer had already checked in with his roommate, George, and settled into bed Saturday night when he smelled the smoke.
He jumped up and began to yell for his friend but got no answer. Soon, he could barely breathe as acrid smoke filled the room.
“I just kept calling on his name, and then the smoke just drove me out,” Fitzmeyer said Sunday afternoon, his eyes damp with tears.
George Maddox, 64, had taken Fitzmeyer in a decade ago after Fitzmeyer’s wife died. And Maddox had stayed with him through a difficult recovery from a brain aneurysm about five years after that.
Neighbors knew the two veterans, Georgie and Artie, were always together, both well-mannered and affable.
But as the fire roared, Fitzmeyer could not find Maddox.
Authorities said a 64-year-old man died in the fire Saturday night at 190 Campbell Ave., but they did not identify him. Fitzmeyer and neighbors said it was Maddox, a medic in the Vietnam War whose selflessness extended well beyond the battlefront.
When Fitzmeyer’s wife died, he said, he planned to move to a homeless shelter for veterans, but Maddox intervened.
“George said the hell with you, you’re coming with me,” Fitzmeyer said.
Maddox was a medic in Vietnam and received multiple medals for his service, according to his roommate.
“He’s seen more carnage in one day than a person would see in a lifetime,” Fitzmeyer said.
About five years ago, when Fitzmeyer had a brain aneurysm and doctors operated, Maddox was there to help with the healing.
“He taught me how to pronounce my words and read and everything,” Fitzmeyer said.
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