Speaker Date Topic
Angel Pilato, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.), PhD Mar 18, 2025 6:30 AM
"The War that Never Ended"

Our March 18th meeting features a presentation by Angel Pilato, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.), PhD. Her talk “The War That Never Ended,” will focus on UXO (Unexploded ordnance) in Laos after the Vietnam War that are still as deadly today as they were 50 years ago. Even though millions of UXO are still in Vietnam and Cambodia, her focus is on Laos as it was the most heavily bombed country per capita in the world, and because many of the pilots from her Air Base were shot down and killed while flying bombing missions over Laos. 

She will discuss what UXO are and their deadly effect on the population, especially the children. She’ll tell us how she got involved with the NO UXO in LAOS project and how it’s helping to remove UXO in Laos.

Dr. Angel Pilato, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, was the first woman assigned to manage an Officers’ Club and the first and only woman to run an O-Club on a fighter pilot base in a war zone. Her memoir, Angel’s Truck Stop: A Woman’s Love, Laughter, and Loss during the Vietnam War, highlights some of the challenges, conflicts and choices she confronted. 

Angel has held management positions in Hi-Tech, Higher Ed and non-profit organizations. Angel, has a private pilot’s license, is a former Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow, she as a life member of The Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, (The River Rats), and Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. After spending 50 years traveling and living mostly in the Northwest she’s returned home to Rochester, NY to be near family. In her retirement, Dr. Pilato continues to advocate with The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to remove the UXO from Laos.

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