Arthur Stivaletta, (June 9, 1934 - April 18, 2002) also known as Mr. Wake Up America, was an American political activist and building contractor from Dedham, Massachusetts.
[2] During an October 1969 rally attended by 100,000 protesters on Boston Common to end the war, he dropped thousands of leaflets on the crowd in support of the troops from an airplane overhead.
It read in part, "Presented in grateful recognition to Arthur Stivaletta ... His dream of sharing his love of country with his fellow Americans will live forever[.
]"[5] Following the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 and the taking of 40 American hostages in Beirut, Stivaletta hired a plane to tow a banner along the Massachusetts coast from Scituate to Salisbury that read: "Mr. Wake Up America says, 'Let's kick ass with terrorists.
[9] In the late 1940s, Joseph Stivaletta purchased land that once housed Hannah B. Chickering's Temporary Asylum for Discharged Female Prisoners.
[11][10] When Massachusetts Route 128 was being constructed, Joseph convinced then-Transportation Secretary John Volpe to move the road rather than disturb the graves.