Nicholas Vaccarella prepares to be U.S. Air Force pilot
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 • The Hammonton Gazette • Page 3
by Stephen Pistone
G azette S taff W RiteR
HaMMONtON—this febru-
ary, resident Nicholas Vaccarella
will be reaching new heights when
he relocates to Laughlin air force
Base in Del Rio, texas to begin his
training to become a pilot in the
U.S. air force.
On May 23, Vaccarella took the
first major step in his military ca-
reer by graduating from the air
force academy in Colorado
Springs, Col. He entered the acad-
emy in June 2014, but not without
facing some adversity. it took Vac-
carella three attempts to get ac-
cepted into the air force
academy, whereas he said most
cadets are accepted directly after
high school.
However, Vaccarella persevered,
studied for two years at Cedarville
University in Cedarville, Ohio
after earning a Reserve Officers’
training Corps (ROtC) scholar-
ship, and finally achieved his
dream by being accepted into the
academy on the third try.
Vaccarella said although the four
years he spent in the academy were
highly challenging and exceeded
his expectations, getting accepted
was the most difficult part of the
process because once he devel-
oped a rapport with his fellow
cadets, he knew he would be able
to make it through the endeavor.
“teamwork is what really gets
you through. So, a lot of people
like to say they go there for the ed-
ucation, they go there for the chal-
lenge, they go there for their
family—pushing them—they go
there for sports. they go there for
different reasons, but the thing that
keeps them staying there is the
people,” Vaccarella said.
another motivational factor that
propelled Vaccarella during his
journey was the rich military her-
itage in his family, specifically the
legacy of his great uncle, Leon
“Ollie” Vaccarella, who was
drafted into the air force in 1943
and served as a bombardier and a
celestial navigator during World
War ii. in 1953, Leon Vaccarella
earned his pilot’s license and flew
as a B-52 pilot before being dis-
charged as a Lieutenant Colonel in
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