Hometown Hero: Uses many skills to help others
Updated: December 14, 2012
Vic Tarquini is a Hometown Hero who wears many hats, and he also spends a lot of time in his man cave, which is a space hidden in the back of his house.
It's been turned into a place where he can look back at all he's accomplished. He's also served in the military as a jet mechanic and fought in the Korean War .
"With the people I met, with the varies things I learned, places I've been and knowing that I served my country was great..,I just had a good time," says Tarquini who spent 30 years at chanute airforce base as an engineer.
"It wasn't just the work itself, it was the personnel...Close knitted. "It's fun, you lose youself into it, you get into it, people get into what you're doing and it's beautiful,"
He's even a magician with pretty quick hands.
"It's something that you just love, It's a beautiful hobby, and if I can amaze you, make you smile and make you think then that's great. That's the good part about magic," says Tarquini.
However, its the magic he does outside of this little room that makes him a hero. "I feel great that i'm capable of doing it," says Tarquini.
Like raising money for aspiring nurses to get job training.
"I've been in the hospital and what these ladies do are something else. They go out of their way to make you feel good and they do it with a lot of tender love and care and they deserve any credit that they can get amd if we can help them then I'm glad we can," says Tarquini.
However, volunteering so much at the American Legion in Danville that they awarded him for it.
"It amazed me and really I don't think I did that much," says Tarquini.
As you can see, he does a lot and for a man in his 80's he says, he has no plans to stop.
"I've done a lot and there are people who have done a lot, if not more but I hope that they appreciate everything that I've done at the American Legion and I will continue to do more," says Tarquini.
If you would like to help the 40 and 8th donate to area nurses, please contact Vic Tarquini at (217) 446-9895.






