Phoenix – September 24, 2026 -- A Vietnam veteran's estate gift sent 360 fellow veterans, service members and first responders to New York Yankees games against the Mets on September 11, 12 and 13, fulfilling his final wish to keep serving the community he devoted his life to.

Joe Pasternack deployed to Qui Nhơn, Vietnam, from September 1965 to August 1966

Pasternack served three years in the U.S. Army before returning home to New York, where he became a lifelong Yankees fan. In 2013 he joined the Veteran Tickets Foundation (Vet Tix), a nonprofit that provides free event tickets to veterans, active service members and first responders through its 1st Tix program.

Pasternack personally referred more than 1,800 veterans and first responders to the program

Vet Tix has since grown into the nation's largest veteran service organization, serving over 2.8 million members and distributing more than 41 million free tickets since 2008, an average of 25,000 tickets a day.

Pasternack died on August 3, 2023, leaving Vet Tix a gift in his estate plan

The organization used that gift to send 360 Vet Tix and 1st Tix members and their families to Yankee Stadium for the three-game series against the Mets. "We are missing a good friend; however, we honored his legacy... for a unique experience while honoring a special gentleman and hero to our nation," said Michael A. Focareto III, Vet Tix Founder, CEO and U.S. Navy veteran.

One recipient, a Vietnam veteran named Rafael, called the trip "priceless"

Rafael, who served in the Army from 1968 to 1970, said he was diagnosed in March 2021 with IBM, a disease related to ALS that he believes may be linked to Agent Orange exposure. He said the memory of attending the game with his son and two grandsons was one he could never have afforded on his own, and he pledged to find ways to pay the gesture forward.