Nicky was the son of Louis and Sally Venditti of King Street in Malvern. He became a star Little League pitcher and went on to General Wayne Junior High and Great Valley High School, where he played some baseball and graduated in 1966. The saying under his yearbook portrait is: “The quiet man who rises to his cause.”
Nicky enlisted in the Army in 1968 to fly helicopters. After basic training at Fort Polk, La., he attended Primary Helicopter School at Fort Wolters, Texas, and Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker, Ala., where he learned to fly the UH-1 “Huey” and won his wings June 3, 1969. He was engaged to Terri Pezick of Malvern when he left for Vietnam.
Nicky was buried July 28, 1969, at Philadelphia Memorial Park in Frazer.
Credits
Story written by Nicky’s cousin, David Venditta (different spelling), whose book about Nicky, “Tragedy at Chu Lai,” was published in June, 2016.