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WHEREAS, Andrew Joseph Kukuruda was born on December 3, 1950 and was raised in the Crafton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh; and,
WHEREAS, Andy attended Schaeffer Elementary School and graduated from then Langley High School, on June 10, 1968. He loved baseball and was a catcher on a Little League Team for the Crafton Heights Baseball Association managed by his stepfather, John Senn. While at Langley, he became an outstanding swimmer on the varsity swim team and was very popular among his graduating class; and,
WHEREAS, after high school graduation, Andy volunteered for the Marine Corps where his first tour of duty began on January 22, 1969 as a machine gunner in Vietnam; and,
WHEREAS, Andy spent 51 days in Vietnam and saw a lot of combat, but never lived to tell about it. On March 14, 1969, Andy died from a gunshot wound to the head trying to drag a fellow Marine to safety. He was 19 years old; and
WHEREAS, the night before his death, Andy and his unit were involved in hand to hand combat with a unit from the North Vietnamese Army at Landing Zone Sierra. The North Vietnamese survivors ambushed Andy’s unit the very next day; and,
WHEREAS, Lt. Michael McKeehen, who was with Andy when he died, recommended him for the Bronze Star with Combat V the night before he went into combat; and,
WHEREAS, Andy is missed by two older sisters, one younger step-sister and one younger step-brother; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recall the selfless military service, battle courage and personal sacrifice of Andrew Joseph Kukuruda, who answered the call to duty during the Vietnam War; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare, March 14, 2019 to be “Andrew Joseph Kukuruda Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.