The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
A HERO’S LEGACY
Pope John Paul II High School hosts Conshohocken native and St. Matthew High School alumnus retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni
ROYERSFORD >> It’s not every day that Pope John Paul II High School gets to honor such an esteemed veteran from its alumni legacy.
But to celebrate Veterans Day, President Jason Bozzone and staff will welcome St. Matthew High
School graduate, Class of 1961, and retired U.S. Marine Corps four-star General Anthony Zinni to speak.
The general will address the audience in the school’s auditorium on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.
Those interested in attending must pre-register at www.pjphs.org/ apps/form/GeneralZinniEvent
St. Matthew, of course, became
Archbishop Kennedy in 1996, which eventually gave way to Kennedy-Kenrick, and, ultimately, Pope John Paul II.
During a phone conversation, the down-to-earth Zinni, a Conshohocken native — specifically, Connaughtown, which is in Plymouth Township — said that over the years he had returned to his hometown
from his current home in Williamsburg, Va., to visit family and to attend his St. Matthew High School 50th class reunion in 2011.
Veterans Day will mark Zinni’s first visit to the high school in Royersford.
“Pope John Paul is a consolidation of what president Jason Bozzone has called the legacy high schools ... St. Matthew, Bishop Kenrick, there are a number of them, and he was kind enough to honor their memory by going back to all the legacy schools and ask the teachers and students to nominate someone for the honor of their Legacy Hall, and there were some teachers who were kind enough to nominate me,” Zinni said. “It was a real honor for me.”
Shannon Villa, Pope John Paul II director of marketing and communications, explained that back in May Zinni had been inducted into the school’s Legacy Impact Hall of Fame.
“Unfortunately, the general wasn’t able to attend, but invited Jason Bozzone down to Williamsburg for a lovely visit,” Villa said. “Jason videotaped the general and we turned that into a three-minute presentation that we were able to show to our attendees. And shortly after that, enough conversations happened that, through the grace of God, we asked him and the general agreed to come and help us honor and celebrate Veterans Day the way that PJP always wanted to. And this goes well beyond the PJP community. The entire Montgomery County community is excited that he is coming here. We’ve heard from a lot of folks throughout the area who will be here on Monday night.”
The theme of the general’s talk is “Leadership and Service: The Power of Influence.”
“As far as the theme goes, it’s really about what the school and the community meant to me, my life and my values. The importance of the kind of education I received and a community that meant a lot to me in Conshohocken,” Zinni said. “I think that’s really the theme, and how it shaped my life. And I hope for the students, it will help them appreciate what they have now and for them to be able to look back, from my vantage point, and really appreciate the values you gain from that.”
The son of Antonio and Lilla Zinni — “My parents were very young when they came to the United States from Italy and they met here” — Zinni noted that the significance of the values he learned in his youth grew more resilient later in life.
“I was appreciative (of St. Matthew) at the time, and I think the older you get the more you appreciate it,” he said. “Conshohocken was a mill town. Right across the street from me was Alan Wood Steel. We had the Lee Tire factory, we had Hamilton Paper. It was basically hard-working blue collar families, a great mix of Irish, Italian, Polish, African-American, Mayflower Americans, a really diverse community with a strong work ethic, strong family life. Just being able to go to Saints Cosmas and Damian grade school and then to St. Matthew High School, the value of the tremendous education I received ... I’m always appreciative of the good sisters (nuns) and what they gave me. And obviously it strengthened my faith. I think later on I called back on those values for things I did in my life, and as I got older I got more and more appreciative. I wish I had been more appreciative then, so that’s my message to students, to value what you’re getting here with your education, your community life and your family life.”
According to his official bio, Zinni, is a retired four star United States Marine Corps general who served his country in numerous diplomatic roles, as the U.S. special envoy to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and in missions to Pakistan, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1961 right out of high school and was commissioned an infantry second lieutenant in 1965, after completing his undergraduate degree in economics at Villanova University. He earned graduate degrees in international relations from Salve Regina University and in management and supervision from Central Michigan University
Zinni retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2000, after a 39-year career that took him to over 70 countries in many command assignments. In his final tour of duty, from 1997 to 2000, he was commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command. In his military career General Zinni earned 23 personal awards and 37 unit, service, and campaign awards.
One of his most memorable experiences, he said, was being granted a private audience with Pope John Paul II.
“Secretary of State Colin Powell asked me to take on the Israeli Palestinian peace mediation effort and while I was there doing that the Franciscan fathers the pope what I was doing and the pope awarded me the Papal Gold Medal of Peace,” Zinni noted. “I was in Rome for another event and I was able to get a private audience with him in his private little chapel where he said Mass. My wife and I were able to go to Mass and have a private audience with him.”
Zinni’s been awarded honorary doctorates from Villanova University; the College of William and
Mary and the Maine Maritime Academy and has held academic positions that include the Stanley Chair in Ethics at the Virginia Military Institute, the Nimitz Chair at the University of California, Berkeley, the Hofheimer Chair at the Joint Forces Staff College, and the Harriman Professorship of Government at the Reves Center for International Studies at the College of William and Mary. Zinni was also Chairman of the Board of BAE Systems Inc., and a member of the board of Dyncorp International before being appointed an executive vice president. He also served as president of International Operations for M.I.C. Industries, Inc. General Zinni is the author of two best-selling books on his military career and foreign affairs: “Battle Ready” and “The Battle for Peace.” His most recent book, “Leading the Charge,” was published in 2009.
“The roots were there in Conshohocken and St. Matthew, and it all grew from there,” Zinni said. “I think the one thing that was most important to me was how much the good sisters cared about us. They wanted us to succeed. they were there to stand by us and were building our character. That’s a foundation you don’t appreciate until later. The good sisters cared about us; we were their family. They were very demanding and insistent on us being very disciplined. The first time I ran into a Marine drill instructor I said ‘you can’t hold a candle to the sisters I experienced,’” he added, laughing.
“In my 40 years as a Marine, with tours of duty in Vietnam, and all over the world, in 70 different countries, and my diplomatic career after that for another 30 or so, getting to see different parts of the world,
and obviously the time spent in places like Iraq, Somalia, Vietnam, and to be honored to lead, in my case, Marines and sailors as a commander of joint forces of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, just a great appreciation of being able to lead the sons and daughters where we needed to go into harm’s way, was always very significant and when you’re in tough situations you really call back on your faith and see how important it is to be an American and appreciate the freedom and the values that we have.”
Zinni’s years growing up in Conshohocken prepared him for his remarkable career in some unexpected ways, he said.
“I worked on John Kennedy’s presidential campaign. He came to Norris
town during the campaign and they were looking for kids to hand out bumper stickers and buttons. I thought it was a great opportunity to meet Senator Kennedy,” he recalled. “And I got to know his brother, Ted Kennedy, very well later in life and he remembered everybody who worked on that campaign for his brother. I was apolitical, really an independent, but I have worked for Republican and Democratic presidents — both Bushes, Clinton, Obama. From H.W. Bush to Obama, I was involved with all of them one way or another.”
Zinni worked in Anthony’s
men’s shop on Fayette Street while in high school and college, and hitched rides to his classes at Villanova.
“I didn’t have a car,” he said, laughing.
Unlike him, his siblings had attended public schools, he said.
“My brother played baseball at Norristown High School and was on the same team as Tommy Lasorda.
Zinni played baseball too, for the Conshohocken Babe Ruth Little League team.
“I have clippings from The Times Herald when I played baseball for Babe Ruth,” he said. “But I only saved the ones when I got a hit,” he added with a laugh.
Pope John Paul II High School is located at 181 Rittenhouse Road, Royersford.