Centreville Playground

Julius P. Pignataro Ballfield

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

This ballfield is named in honor of Julius P. Pignataro, a Private First Class who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service of this country as a member of the US Army while deployed to Vietnam’s Kontum Province in 1969.

Pignataro was a native of Ozone Park, and attended John Adams High School and worked as a clerk in the post office at John F. Kennedy Airport. He was called into service in June 1968, and was killed March 28 defending a helicopter landing area. He was a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, a Purple Heart, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Vietnam Service Medal.

The park’s single ballfield was named in 1999 for Pignataro. The site received a new irrigation system in 2001 to create a healthy grass baseball diamond for Ozone park ball players.