SCRANTON — Former Mayor David Wenzel, a Vietnam War hero who went on to become the city’s 27th mayor, died Wednesday night, around the time that the University of Scranton was honoring him with an inaugural Public Service Award, the university and a family friend confirmed after the event.

Wenzel, 80, who had been ailing in recent years and a resident of the Gino J. Merli Center, was not present at the inaugural “Public Service Award” bestowed upon him by the university’s Center for Ethics and Excellence in Public Service.

The event had been planned for about a month, to coincide with the 40-year anniversary of Wenzel’s election as mayor of Scranton, on Nov. 5, 1985.

Speakers included former Mayor Chris Doherty, former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, Lackawanna County Judge Tom Munley and Joe Riccardo, a close friend of Wenzel and his widow, Janet.

Riccardo said Wenzel apparently died at the Merli center around 6 p.m or 6:30 p.m., just as the award ceremony that started at 5 p.m. was wrapping up and the room was clearing out, when family members started getting phone calls from the Merli center telling them of Wenzel’s passing.

Wenzel was in Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at the University of Scranton before graduating and getting shipped to Vietnam. In early 1971, Wenzel stepped on a landmine and lost both legs above the knee, his left arm above the wrist, and eventually most sight in his left eye. He spent about a year in a hospital in Valley Forge recuperating.

After the war, Wenzel went on to build a career that involved community service.

A Republican, Wenzel became the city’s tax collector and later its 27th mayor, from 1986-90.

He wrote a history book, “Scranton’s Mayors,” in 2006. He also had participated in a regional United Nations Association organization and served on the city’s Shade Tree Commission.

“His legacy was of someone who loved the city and as one who never bore any grudges,” Riccardo said. “He was a happy warrior. That’s his legacy — a life of giving.”

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Former Scranton Mayor and Vietnam veteran David Wenzel shakes hands with his friend, Korean War veteran Albert Gregori of Scranton, following the annual Koch-Conley American Legion Post Veterans Day Program on Courthouse Square in Scranton on Monday, Nov. 11, 2019. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

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Former Scranton Mayor David Wenzel, a Vietnam veteran, sits near a new marble bench dedicated to Lackawanna County’s four Medal of Honor recipients during a ceremony at McDade Park in Scranton in 2017. Names etched on the bench are Patrick DeLacy (1835-1915), John C. Delaney (1848-1915), Joseph R. Sarnoski (1915-1943) and Gino J. Merli (1924-2002). Support for the bench – near the entrance to the park below the Anthracite Heritage Museum – was provided by veterans organizations and the county 9-11 Committee. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

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Former Scranton Mayor and Vietnam veteran David Wenzel bows his head Monday during an opening prayer at the annual Koch-Conley American Legion Post Veterans Day Program on Courthouse Square in Scranton in 2019. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

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Former Scranton Mayor and Vietnam veteran David Wenzel shakes hands with a smile alongside fellow former Scranton Mayor James Connors at the conclusion of Wednesday’s Mayor’s Independence Day Celebration at Nay Aug Park in Scranton in 2017. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

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Vietnam War veteran and former Scranton Mayor David Wenzel, 67, holds his hat over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance at an event at Nay Aug Park in Scranton in 2013. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

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Former Scranton Mayor David Wenzel a Vietnam veteran and Northeastern Detachment Marine Corps League color guard Richard Kane (left) and Manuel Griffin listen to a speech during the Koch Conley American Legion Post 121 annual Veterans Day program on Lackawanna County Courthouse Square in Scranton, Pa., on Friday, Nov. 11, 2016. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

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Former Scranton Mayor David Wenzel, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Army as a second lieutenant, watches members of the Marine Corps League based in East Mountain march during an annual Mayor’s Independence Day Celebration at Nay Aug Park in Scranton in 2016. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

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Former Scranton Mayor David Wenzel sifts through a scrapbook at his South Scranton home In 2012. In the foreground is a picture of him, front row right, and a group of other injured Vietnam veterans at Valley Forge Army Hospital. A member of the Army’s 23rd Infantry Division, Mr. Wenzel was wounded by a land mine on Jan. 25, 1971. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

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Former Scranton Mayor and Vietnam veteran David Wenzel shakes hands with his friend, Korean War veteran Albert Gregori of Scranton, following the annual Koch-Conley American Legion Post Veterans Day Program on Courthouse Square in Scranton on Monday, Nov. 11, 2019. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

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