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MVPD's Lt.
Zarelli a
pallbearer at cousins funeral in Philadelphia; hero
surgeon killed in Iraq on Christmas day
Lt. Michael Zarelli, a member of Mount Vernon's Police
Department, traveled to Philadelphia on Monday, January 5 to
be a pallbearer at his first cousin's funeral.
John P. Pryor,
42, the dedicated leader of the University of Pennsylvania's
trauma team and a decorated major in the Army Reserve who
wrote eloquently about the painful parallels between
battlefield deaths and urban homicides, was killed on
Christmas day by enemy fire in Iraq while serving as a
combat surgeon.
Dr. Pryor deployed December 6 and was with a risky
frontline surgical unit when he was killed by shrapnel from
a mortar round. It was his second tour of duty in Iraq.
Dr. Pryor, who was experienced and cool under pressure,
was born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., and raised near Albany. He
completed surgical training at the State University of New
York in Buffalo, and came to the Hospital of the University
of Pennsylvania in 1999. After a fellowship in trauma
surgery and critical care, he joined Penn's surgical faculty
and served as director of the hospital's nationally
recognized trauma program.
In an undated document that Dr. Pryor wrote and left
with family before he deployed, he recounted his early
affinity for injured people, his passion to serve -
specifically in wartime - and the difficulty of balancing
his love of country and family, because he felt his decision
to go to Iraq was not always supported by those closest to
him.
"Since an early age, Dr. Pryor was involved in the care
of the sick and injured," he wrote of himself in the third
person. "He was certified in CPR when he was 14 years old,
joined the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Ambulance Corps at 17, and
became a N.Y. State Emergency Medical Technician at 18,"
adding that it was "emotionally very challenging" to balance
his dedication to family and country. "He hopes and prays,"
he wrote, "for forgiveness from his family and colleagues."
A technically skilled surgeon with a fierce adventurous
streak, Dr. Pryor dashed to the heart of Ground Zero on
Sept. 11, 2001, to volunteer his services. He wound up
deciphering and filling medical requests that crackled over
rescue-team radios.
A hard worker who drove himself relentlessly, Dr. Pryor took
it personally when he was unable to save someone on his
operating table.
Upon his return to Mount Vernon, Lt. Zarelli
communicated with Commissioner David Chong in writing and
stated: "Thank you for allowing me to console my grieving
family and represent the Department at the funeral for my
first cousin, John. I received many compliments from
esteemed dignitaries for my representation of Mount Vernon
and the Police Department. It was an honor to act as the
family pallbearer in the great city of Philadelphia and on
behalf of the Pryor family, they are forever grateful. My
family is proud that there still is a member of the family
who can continue the work that John did so selflessly."
Dr. Pryor is survived by his wife, Carmela V. Calvo, a
pediatrician at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children; a
daughter, Danielle; sons Francis and John Jr.; a brother;
and his parents, Richard C. and Victoria.
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