Father and son remembered for sacrafice

Air Force Technical Sergeant Richard Fitzgibbon Jr., at left, grew up in Stoneham, the oldest of nine children. He served in the Navy in World War II, receiving a Purple Heart, then, after many years as a stationkeeper assigned to air stations in Squantum and South Weymouth, the expert aviation mechanic was recruited by the newly formed Air Force. He and his family were living in North Weymouth when he was sent to Vietnam as a military adviser. But enemy fire did not kill the aircrew chief; a deranged fellow airman shot Fitzgibbon as he was handing out candy to local orphans in Saigon. He died 13 days before his 36th birthday.
Courtesy of Alice DelRossi
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By Linda Morgan Bliss, Globe Staff
Air Force Technical Sergeant Richard Fitzgibbon Jr., at left, grew up in Stoneham, the oldest of nine children. He served in the Navy in World War II, receiving a Purple Heart, then, after many years as a stationkeeper assigned to air stations in Squantum and South Weymouth, the expert aviation mechanic was recruited by the newly formed Air Force. He and his family were living in North Weymouth when he was sent to Vietnam as a military adviser. But enemy fire did not kill the aircrew chief; a deranged fellow airman shot Fitzgibbon as he was handing out candy to local orphans in Saigon. He died 13 days before his 36th birthday.