Staff Sergeant Vincent P. Marketta was born on August 5, 1987, and was a native of Brick, New Jersey. Known to family and friends as Vinnie, he was an avid New Jersey Devils fan who played hockey in high school and later on an adult team.
Vincent volunteered for the Army in 2011 and trained as a 15T UH-60 Black Hawk repairer. After Advanced Individual Training he was assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), the Night Stalkers, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and in 2012 completed the regiment’s demanding Enlisted Combat Skills course, known as Green Platoon. He spent 18 months as an aircraft repairer in Foxtrot Company, 1st Battalion, and in 2014 moved to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, as a crew chief on the MH-60 Direct Action Penetrator. In Charlie Company he served as a fully mission-qualified crew chief, flight instructor, section sergeant and platoon sergeant.
His training included Combatives Level 1, the MH-60 Maintainers Course, SERE School, the MH-60 Non-Rated Crew Member Course, the Basic and Advanced Leaders Courses and the MH-60 Flight Instructor Course. With the 160th he deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and several times to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Over his career he logged more than 1,300 flight hours in the MH-60L and MH-60M, including 600 hours under night-vision goggles and 300 hours in combat.
Vincent’s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with “V” device, the Air Medal with “C” device, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with “C” device, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal, the NATO Medal, the Combat Action Badge and the Basic Aviation Badge.
On August 27, 2020, Vincent was killed when his MH-60 crashed during aviation training on San Clemente Island, California. Sergeant Tyler Shelton, an MVF honoree in 2025, also died, and three other soldiers were injured. Vincent was 33. Both soldiers were posthumously awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. “The loss of Staff Sgt. Marketta and Sgt. Shelton has left a scar in this Regiment that will never completely heal,” said Colonel Andrew R. Graham, the regiment’s commander, who called their service “the embodiment of what it means to be a Night Stalker and a Soldier.”
Away from the flight line Vincent loved to head out to a lake or river to fish. When he was not fishing he could usually be found in the garage working on his 1989 Jeep Comanche or riding his CBR600RR on back-country roads. Above all, he was a loving husband, father and son who treasured time with his family. He is survived by his wife, Danielle; his daughter, Gianna; his parents, Richard and Mary; and his brothers, Anthony, Nicholas and Dominic.
Vincent flew over 1,300 total flight hours including 300 in combat in the MH-60 DAP, embodying Night Stalkers Don't Quit in every mission.
160th SOAR (Airborne) Command
Sources
- U.S. Army (USASOC): Two Special Operations Soldiers Killed in Aircraft Mishap
- Night Stalker Foundation: Staff Sergeant Vincent P. Marketta
- AP News: 2 soldiers killed in Black Hawk training crash in California
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: 2024 stage bio, matchbook and honoree website bio sheet
