Obituary of Vincent W. Arnone

Vincent William Arnone, of Plympton, died on December 4, 2019 at the age of 73 as the result of multiple organ failure. Mr. Arnone was born in Boston and raised in Malden. He was a veteran of the US Marine Corps during the Cold War and the U.S Special Forces during the Vietnam war. He is perhaps best known for his attempts to rescue American prisoners of war held captive in Laos after the end of the Vietnam War. His exploits were depicted in the movie Uncommon Valor. The effort gained notoriety due to the financial backing of Hollywood movie stars Clint Eastwood and William Shatner and Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot. Arnone acted at the behest of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Intelligence Support Activity. He served under retired U.S Army Special Forces LTC James “Bo” Gritz, until he was asked to take over the project in 1985 and remained working out of a Free Lao Guerrilla base in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand until 1993 when the project closed down. He Then became bodyguard to a ranking member of Thai Parliament as he was fluent in three dialects of Thai and had working knowledge of Laotian. For eight years he was married to a Thai of Lao decent . 

Mr. Arnone worked in the security Consulting field for over 30 years and was the owner of Arnone Consulting (Thailand) where he served as president and chief counterterrorism/ tactical consultant. His work took his to Northern Ireland, England, Germany, France and United Arab Emirates , Pakistan, Taiwan, Mexico, Hong Kong, The peoples Republic of China, Brunei, Borneo, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, And a tour as a civilian Security Contractor in Afghanistan in 2002. 

In the course of his duties, Mr. Arnone trained with the British SAS, London metropolitan Police CO 19, German GSG-9, Northern Ireland HMSU, US Navy Seal Team 6 and US Army Delta Force as well as Kuwaiti, South Korean, Hungarian, Polish, Canadian, Spanish, Brazilian, Quatari, and United Arab emirates Special Forces to name a few. 

Among his other accomplishments, he was a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) trainer both domestically and Internationally working with Los Angelos PD Swat, Dallas Swat, NEMLEC SWAT, Hilo, Hawaiian PD, and served for nine years as a judge at the SWAT Roundup International, an annual event sponsored event sponsored by the Florida Swat Association and held in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Sheriffs Range. He was for a number of years the Swat Consultant to the Malden Police Department. He also consulted on security for the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta, GA.

Mr. Arnone was a member of the Florida SWAT Association, National Tactical Officers Association, the Eagle Claw Society and a Life member of the Special Forces Association, Special Operations Association, Special Elite Forces Society and the C-Company 75th Ranger Association and the First Special Forces Association. 

He was the holder of the Silver Beaver Award and the Shofar Award, the two highest awards a local Boy Scout Council can bestow upon an adult leader. His other memberships included Plymouth Lodge A.F. & A.M. , Aleppo Temple Shrine, Scottish Rite Valley of Boston and Life Membership In the DeMolay  Alumni Association and recently celebrated his 43rd anniversary as a Mason. He was also a member of American Legion Post #0462. 

At his request there will only be a graveside service at Hillcrest Cemetery, Plympton MA, on Monday, December 9, at 1:00PM. Funeral Arrangements have been made through the Shepherd Funeral Home in Kingston MA. His final Wish was in Lieu of flowers, donations be made in his memory to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation PO Box 13483, Tampa FL, 33681-3483.