From a contemporary press report
Vincent F. La Piana, 90, a retired Army colonel who later became an Arlington County health inspector, died June 3, 1998 at a health care facility in Baltimore, Maryland. He had Alzheimer’s disease.
Colonel La Piana was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated from the Armour Institute of Technology. During the 1930s, he was a Food and Drug Administration inspector in Detroit. He served in the Army during World War II, then he returned to the FDA but soon rejoined the Army.
He served in the Korean War and also had served in San Francisco, Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland and Japan. His decorations included a Bronze Star.
On his military retirement in 1962, he settled in Alexandria. He was an Arlington health inspector until his civilian retirement in 1975.
For the last 3 1/2 years, he lived with a daughter in Towson, Maryland.
His first wife, Patricia Clare La Piana, died in 1973. His second wife, Dorothy La Piana, died in the early 1980s.
Survivors include three children from his first marriage, Patricia M. Berk and Dr. Kathleen A. La Piana, both of Towson, and Dr. Francis G. La Piana of Ashton; 10 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
LaPIANA, VINCENT F.
On June 3, 1998, VINCENT F. LaPIANA, devoted father of Francis G. LaPiana, M.D., Patricia M. and Joseph L. Berk and Kathleen A. LaPiana, Ph.D.; devoted brother of Francis LaPiana. Also survived by 10 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Old Post Chapel on Tuesday, June 16, 1998 at 12:45 p.m. with full military honors. Interment Arlington National Cemetery.
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard