Samuel Fuoco

Samuel Fuoco was born in December 1948 in Sunnyside, Washington, to Italian immigrant parents. His father came to the United States from Italy in 1913, and served in the military from 1919 to 1922. He returned to Italy, but came back to the U.S. prior to World War II. Fuoco’s mother would not rejoin his father until after the war.

Fuoco grew up in the state of Washington. He attended the University of Washington in Seattle, where he received a scholarship as the son of an immigrant. Fuoco participated in the ROTC program, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in June 1971. He was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, for basic officer training, and then attended Airborne and Ranger schools. Fuoco’s initial desire when he joined ROTC was to serve in Vietnam, but by the time he completed his training, the war was winding down.

Fuoco was assigned to 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he served in a number of positions. He returned to Fort Benning in 1976 for advanced training, and he recalled how difficult that training was. After advanced training, Fuoco was assigned to Fort Dix, New Jersey, as a company commander in charge of over 200 new army recruits engaged in basic training. He then commanded an advanced infantry training company. Fuoco left active duty in 1978 and joined the reserves.

Fuoco’s initial reserve duty was with 1st Brigade, 78th Division at Fort Hancock, New Jersey, from 1978 to 1981. During his time in the reserves, he used GI Bill education benefits to earn two master’s degrees, including one from Monmouth University. Fuoco used these degrees to further his career in the service. In 1982, he was sent to Philadelphia to command C Company, 1st Battalion, 315th Infantry Regiment, a position held until 1985, when he became the battalion S-3 Operations Officer. His main responsibilities in that position included preparing a training schedule for the year.

In 1988, Fuoco was assigned to Horsham, Pennsylvania, near Germantown, as chemical officer of the brigade headquarters for the 157th Separate Mechanized Infantry Brigade. The unit had one armored or tank battalion and two armored infantry battalions whose soldiers were transported by armored personnel carriers.

After serving a year at Horsham, Fuoco was sent to Red Bank, New Jersey, where he rejoined the First Brigade of the 78th Division, serving as executive officer from 1989 to 1992, when he left for Fort Dix and was assigned to the LANES training brigade. LANES was a pioneer training program in which a unit would learn to deal with snipers and ambushes.

In 1983, Fuoco was selected to command the 1278th Logistics Support Brigade which was located at Fort Dix. He served as an Assistant Division S-3 for the 78th Division from 1996 to 1997, ensuring that the division’s brigades complied with the command policies of the commander.

In 1997, Fuoco was promoted to Colonel, although there were no open positions for that rank. He was placed into a control group for a year to serve on standby until a position became available. In 1998, Fuoco was appointed as Deputy Commander of the 304th Civil Affairs Brigade. He was the Team Chief of a group of officers; he described the brigade as an outstanding unit, saying “I really enjoyed that. Those six years were wonderful years for me.”

Fuoco left for Iraq in 2006. He flew down to Fort Bragg for mobilization training, then flew to Dusseldorf, Germany, and then on to Kuwait. Upon arrival in Baghdad, he felt somewhat apprehensive upon realizing he was in a combat zone. Morale was high there however; because, the men felt that they were representing their country and their families. Fuoco is proud of his service in Baghdad, and described it as something he waited for during his whole military career. He always wanted to go to war and help as much as he could, yet he had missed Vietnam, and was not deployed anywhere outside the United States during the Cold War.

Upon his return from Iraq, Fuoco was selected to be the senior civilian employee at Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island, New York. He enjoyed his time there, and developed a friendship with a general which lasted well after they had both retired. In 2011, Fuoco had completed 26½ years as an army civilian employee, and 37½ years of active and reserve duty. He retired at the age of 60 as a Colonel. His retirement ceremony was held at Fort Wadsworth; Fuoco recalled it being “a wonderful ceremony”.

After his retirement, Fuoco became involved in the AUSA organization. He was passionate about his various volunteer jobs he involved himself with, and he was eventually selected to become the president of the AUSA Monmouth Chapter. Colonel Fuoco received many awards, including the highest award from the state of New Jersey: a Distinguished Service Medal with a Silver Oak Leaf Cluster. He also received a Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal with Seven Oak Leaf Clusters, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, as well as several others.

Colonel Samuel Fuoco passed away on April 3, 2020 due to complications fighting Covid-19. He was 71 years old.

Additional Resources: 

• Colonel Samuel Fuoco Scholarship Fund
• Loved and Lost: Col. Samuel Fuoco, who devoted his life to serving others and his country
• Passing of Colonel Samuel Fucoco
• VA Partner Spotlight: Colonel Samuel Fuoco 
• Man who grew up in Toppenish dies of COVID-19 in New Jersey
• Samuel Fuoco’s family remembers his life after he died from COVID-19