Vic (aka "you little man, halt") joined the Hippogators as a 126 pound 17 year old right out of high school. In Double Deuce, he and George Levitsky took a relaxation break from Dick McConn and Ed Shirley by climbing the face of Eagle Peak as doolies in the dead of winter 1965. Vic also went 3 rounds with Rich Gray (our only perfect PFT) and left the ring conscious and standing. After moving upstairs to Playboy 19, Vic vacationed with the Army at Fort Benning and then took the skydiving course courtesy of Mike Armstrong. He was undefeated in squadron wrestling (lots of pins in the 1st round), made the Dean's List and was honored with the Andrews Award in history. Vic finally moved out of the back ranks of the squadron when he became a Flight Commander and actually saw a parade from the front. Mike Navarro persuaded Vic to give boxing one last shot in the Squadron intramurder comps where he took out his opponent with 3 punches. George and Vic reclimbed Eagle Peak for the 40th reunion and are planning for a hat trick during the 50th, assuming all the joints and appendages work.

Pilot training at Willy led to the first of six years in hostile fire areas starting with Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos. Vic teamed up with Bob Willis to help rescue 3 guys during 2 separate missions, one in Mugia Pass and two near the Plain of Jars. He took 3 hits in SEA: 2 bullet holes in the OV-10 and was almost killed by Wayne Rowell flying across the room during a rocket attack. He taught primary jets at Columbus AFB and then volunteered for a third SEA tour, this time at HQ 7th Air Force, NKP. Returning from 35 months in SEA, he married Miss Mary McLeod in 1974, then on an F-4 honeymoon at Luke AFB followed by RAF Woodbrige as a Flight Commander. Vic instructed in A-10s at Davis- Monthan then at RAF Bentwaters as a Flight Commander and Chief of Training. He volunteered for jump FAC duty with the Army's 1st Battalion, 509th Airborne Infantry in Vicenza, Italy. Then back to A-10s at RAF Bentwaters with the 510th Fighter Squadron. Vic commanded the 81st Security Police Squadron from 1984 to 86 and then volunteered for El Salvador which required Spanish at DLI and helicopter training. During this communist insurgency (19 casualties a day), Vic was the Air Force advisor and Chief of Staff. The Bonfiglio's moved to Korea, where he was Deputy Commander for Operations 5th Tac Air Control Group. Next was NATO duty as Division Chief, 5th Allied Tactical Air Force in Vicenza running DENY FLIGHT in Bosnia. Vic commanded the 722nd Air Base Squadron in Kurdistan working with Scott Pilkington on PROVIDE COMFORT. Vic's troops recovered and sorted the bodies after the 14 April 94 Blackhawk shootdown. Embassy duty followed as US Defense Attaché in Caracas with accreditation in Guyana. In October 1996, Vic and Mary were back in Arizona where he commanded the 612th Air Support Squadron and Air Support for Latin America. Retiring as a Colonel in July 1998, Vic compiled 23 years of overseas duty, flew 421 combat missions in SEA, 9 combat missions in El Salvador and 2 eradication missions on the Colombian border plus 321 parachute jumps including night, mass tactical, combat equipment and free fall. Vic's decorations include 3 DFCs, 18 Air Medals, 3 Aerial Achievement Medals and paratrooper brevets from Spain, Italy, Portugal and El Salvador.

After retirement, Vic and Mary moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan to be with Nathan and Sarah who were students there. Vic's first civilian job was working as a lifeguard for the University of Michigan. He continued flying as a FAA Certificated Flying Instructor and became a school teacher and swimming instructor. In 2000, Ed Eberhart wrote Vic a letter which changed his life. The Air Force had run out of experienced fighter pilots for staff jobs, so Vic was invited to Hawaii to work as an Operations Analyst in PACAF while continuing as a CFI. He also became an Adjunct Professor at Embry-Riddle University. In 2003, Vic put his uniform back on to teach Air Force Junior ROTC at Moanalua High School. He has helped 7 students get into Academies, flown over 800 students and helped many students get scholarship money..... probably close to a million bucks. Vic has been selected as the Outstanding JROTC Instructor of the Year several times. He has now been wearing the US Air Force uniform for 46 years and is not finished yet. Mary teaches English Language Learning in Honolulu at the Salt Lake Elementary School.

Vic stays active as a Biathlete, Triathlete and Ocean Swimming racer. In the last 12 years, he competed in the Kailua Biathlon, Tinman Triathlon, Marine Corps Triathlon, North Shore Triathlon, Raging Isle 1 mile sprint swimming race, Waimea Bay 2,000 meter swimming race, Chun's Reef 1.6 Swim & the North Shore Challenge 2.3 mile swimming race from Banzai Pipeline to Waimea Bay. He also competed in the Pearl Harbor, Fort Shafter and Hickam AFB Powerlifting Competitions. He has several gold, silver and bronze medals, all in the "old" and "very old". category. He also climbed Olomana several times, often with cadets and competed in The Great Hawaiian Air Race winning a few medals there as well.

Vic and Mary, are the parents of son Nathan and daughter Sarah, parents-in-law of Sundi and Jacques, and proud grandparents of Johannes "JJ".

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