Philip Vampatella, Philip Vamptell, Filippo Vanpatilla, or Filippo Vampatella is the hero of this story. He writes the story as a biography, but in actuality it is an autobiography. When he arrived in Brooklyn, he and his father Biagio started looking for work. Not being able to speak a word of English made things more difficult for them. Over the years Philip worked very hard at learning the English language. He liked America. He liked the people. He wanted to be American. He liked America so much that when he was in the army, he used the name Philip Vamptell believing that the fewer vowels he had in his name the more American he sounded. Philip would go to the library, watch movies and listen and learn the language. His determination was remarkable. He would sit and read the dictionary and became so proficient in the language that he was able to write this beautiful story about his life. It was important to Philip that his descendants knew where they came from; what life was like for their ancestor. He was a simple and humble man but proud of his accomplishments which include not only his ability to learn a language, but his carpentry skills and mostly his children.
