The city of Davis' newest park is named after one of the soldiers listed on UC Davis' war memorial.

The dedication of John Barovetto Park was scheduled for the evening of May 24. The park of almost seven acres is at Alhambra Drive and Arroyo Avenue in Mace Ranch.

Barovetto, an Army captain, was killed while en route to secure a downed aircraft during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam in 1968. It happened during his second tour of duty in Vietnam. He was 28.

Barovetto was one of four UC Davis casualties in the Vietnam War, but he was the one with the closest ties to Davis. He was a 1956 graduate of Davis High School, where he served as senior class president, and lettered in football, basketball and track. And, as a soldier, he rallied the community to deliver humanitarian aid to South Vietnamese villages.

Phil Knox, interim director of UC Davis' Advising Services, said Barovetto deserves recognition. As the campus's veterans counselor in the late 1970s, Knox had the difficult task of meeting with Barovetto's parents to gather information for their son's page in the Aggies' Golden Memory Book.

The book, part of the campus's memorial to fallen soldiers, states: "Captain Barovetto organized Operation Helping Hand through his parents and the citizens of Davis. Through their efforts, in 1966-67, 2,000 pounds of supplies were sent to the village of Chu Lai, and in 1967 another 3,000 pounds of food and supplies were sent to the orphanage, church and school in Cu Chi, South Vietnam."

After Barovetto's death, according to the memory book, the Davis community sent $2,500 to his commanding officer for the purpose of helping the children of the convent in Cu Chi. "His troop volunteered many man hours to rebuilding the Cu Chi property, besides naming a rifle range after him."

Barovetto attended UC Davis for two years, from 1956 to 1958, as an architecture major. He played quarterback and halfback on the varsity football team both years.

He transferred to UC Berkeley in 1959, changing his major to history and military science. He was a member of the Cal rugby team that won the world championship cup two years in a row, 1964 and '65.

And he was a member of Army ROTC. So, upon his graduation in 1964, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He served with the 1st and 4th Cavalries.

Barovetto received a Silver Star, for gallantry in action, and a Bronze Star, for heroism, among other commendations, including a Purple Heart.

—Dave Jones