Decorated combat veteran Jerry Tempesta is now an entertainer who enjoys singing in harmony

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Growing up in South Philly, Jerry Tempesta found his passion for doo-wop music.

"The love songs of The Duprees, The Skyliners - I mean, the harmonies were great," says Tempesta.

He says he was probably about 14 years old when he started singing with kids in his neighborhood.

"We started a group called The Four Centuries," he says. "In sophomore year, me and my high school friend, Joe Porpora, started the group The Emeralds."

The draft took him from singing on street corners to fighting overseas.

"I served in the Army, in the military, from February 12, 1969, to February 11, 1971," says Tempesta. "I was in the Wolfhounds, which is the 2nd of the 27th Infantry Battalion of the 25th Infantry Division, which originates out of Hawaii."

He spent a year in Vietnam from July of 1969 to July of 1970 and was twice wounded, earning two Purple Hearts. Initially, he was wounded by shrapnel in November of 1969, but he also took enemy fire on April 2, 1970, in what was known as Renegade Woods.

"We were ambushed by enemy forces, overwhelmed, and we lost four soldiers," he says. "I saved my lieutenant's life and other people."

While being fired at, Tempesta says he was shot in the head, "through the ear and through the side of the head."

He is now being considered for the Medal of Honor. In September 2024 he received two awards for his heroism, the Bronze Star for Valor and the Pennsylvania Cross of Valor.

He says coming home from war was a challenge.

"I lost singing in my heart when I came home, because of being in combat," he says. "I was suffering from a traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder."

Tempesta returned to work at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard where he'd worked since he was 17 and spent the next 30 years there.

"I didn't sing for 25 years," he says.

In the late '90s, a friend convinced him to pick the mic back up and The Emeralds were shining once again.

"In 1997, we were singing with Tony Orlando in a show at Harrah's Casino called 'Jukebox Dreams'," he says. "It was great."

Since then, he's performed with a few groups, like Frankie & The Fashions.

"They all had different styles," he says. "I love singing the harmony of the songs."

He now sings first tenor with his current group, Remember Then, at venues around the area, most recently performing at Vera in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

"When I sing, I feel like I'm a teenager again," he says. "Music is very healing."

Tempesta adds that it's "a great feeling to make people happy."