Vietnam Vet's Final Gift Sends 360 Veterans to Yankees-Mets Games
Phoenix – September 24, 2026 -- A Vietnam veteran's estate gift sent 360 fellow veterans, service members and first responders to New York Yankees games against the Mets on September 11, 12 and 13, fulfilling his final wish to keep serving the community he devoted his life to.
Joe Pasternack deployed to Qui Nhơn, Vietnam, from September 1965 to August 1966
Pasternack served three years in the U.S. Army before returning home to New York, where he became a lifelong Yankees fan. In 2013 he joined the Veteran Tickets Foundation (Vet Tix), a nonprofit that provides free event tickets to veterans, active service members and first responders through its 1st Tix program.