Served in Vietnam, U.S. Army
Radio Telephone Operator, Forward Observer
1966-68

From the Artist:

From a newspaper article (The Call, Feb. 24, 1995):

Janetta holds a B.S. in art education from Rhode Island College, a master's of education from Providence College and a master's of art education from Rhode Island School of Design, where he teaches part-time. He is a full-time art teacher in the Providence school system.

Janetta noted that the road to his career was often fraught with bumps and potholes along the way, including stints after high school where he worked doing everything from making nameplates at Emblem and Badge to dressing mannequins at Sears, Roebuck & Company.

"I could go to college or go to work," he continued. "The Vietnam war was going on. My father had been in World War II. This thing was going on in the back of my mind. It was a tough decision."

After some thought, however, Janetta enlisted in the Army and found himself in the middle of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam from 1966-68.

"People were shooting at me," he recalled. "It wasn't all that great."

But that experience, he added, gave his life a different perspective. It also gave him experiences from which he has drawn, in his etchings and various other creations, moments in time. In some cases, his creations simply depict scenes of soldiers with arms draped over machine guns or enjoying a moment of camaraderie. Other times, they are faces of agony.

"I like working with things that are real," he said. "Art should excite you."