List of Interviewees by War
World War I
World War II
Misasi, John F Rank: T4Branch: US Army The Battle of the Bulge for us started for us, one morning in St. Vith. The German soldiers were dressed in white to match the snow. It got cold, bitter cold and they came down the slope and attacked our infantry and our infantry was annihilated.
Culotta, John Rank: Seaman First ClassBranch: Coast Guard We watched the palm trees flying through the air and it was kind of scary, the first time I had ever was in a hurricane, but we didn't get very much damage.
Grossman, John Rank: T4Branch: US Army ...Ours was made for speed, quickness and unfortunately, the first two battles we were in were stationary battles, much to our displeasure and suffering, casualties.
Knapp, George W Rank: CaptainBranch: US Army When we got there it was under control of quite a number of German Nazi soldiers and their officers and of course when we took the city, we captured them. I'll never forget this; the chaplain of these men was captured too... so naturally I went to visit him as a chaplain and when we both realized we were chaplains, he gave me a little Testament, in German of course. And I have it right here in my communion set.
Flanagan, Daniel F Rank: Chief Petty OfficerBranch: US Navy The military airplanes...they weren't rather luxuriously laid out you know, you didn't have cushiony seats or anything, just kind of bucket seats along the bulkhead as they called it, the walls of the plane. It was---it wasn't pleasant. It was cold and noisy and smelly.
Palermo, Salvatore Rank: Machinists Mate MMC3Branch: US Navy We had to lay a smokescreen from our generators and from the stack of the ship to hide them then, with the grace of God it happened to rain and we hid in a rain squall too. Our ships hid in a rain squall. But then Admiral Sprague gave us an order for the "little boys let go your fish" so we had to fire torpedoes at these big ships.
Pasquerella, Ralph Rank: T-4Branch: US Army In Regensburg, Germany we were getting shelled and I jumped into a foxhole, and who jumped into the foxhole right after me was a boy from Melrose Park. Honest to God--Isn't that something? I knew him, I knew the whole family.
Mucerino, Anthony P. Rank: PFCBranch: US Army The Germans were getting ready to attack us and we knew which way they were coming so they sent our platoon out to a farmhouse and that's when, we were in the farmhouse when the Germans overran us. They knocked out our communications and first thing in the morning, about four, five o'clock in the morning, they surrounded us....
Cannici, Leo Rank: PFCBranch: US Army When I got there, the first gunner, the first battle I was in with him, he got killed so I was next in line. I got to be first gunner right away. It was okay. I still made it though.
Dugo, Salvatore (Sam) Rank: PFCBranch: US Army The hardest part about that was I used to carry the M1 rifle and the bazooka--you know we just kept on going walking, walking you know so I used to get mad. I used tell my captain, I says listen I have been carrying it for 10 miles walking... He says I'll get a relief man - never did get me a relief man so, what I did, I just got the bazooka and I threw it away.
Provenzano, Angelo Rank: Branch: US Army It was so beautiful to get back in the United States, there’s no place like home, I’ll tell ya. Yeah you know, you got some, got some good times, you got some rough times. Like I said before we used to sit around and sing a few songs, I always liked the sing-along with guys, and stuff and that you know. So a couple of buddies in the army, I started singing a song one day and they’d joined in, first thing you know there were three or four of us that were all, started grouping and sometimes you know, they would chime and stuff, and that you know.
Malpier, Michael Rank: Branch: US Navy "...while we were circling around the officer that was in charge of the boat that I was on said “Why don’t you guys jump over the side and look for mines?” I thought this guy has got to be really something! So we did and I had a terrible experience personally. I was swimming around thinking oh my God if you find a mine you’ll be blown to pieces. When I was swimming, my hand landed on a body, only half of a body. I don’t know if it was an American kid or Japanese, but that was enough. I jumped back into the boat and that was the end of that."
Petitti, Angelo Rank: Branch: Army Air Forces "I flew Market…I told you I didn’t miss one. I flew at Eindhoven, I flew - and I flew the British in..."
Korea
Scott, J W Rank: Platoon LeaderBranch: US Army You'd have two hundred fourteen men and this evening you might have fifty. It was just that bad. It was war.
Fabiani, Joseph G Rank: CorporalBranch: US Army You're laying in the hole and you hear...bang...bang...bang and you're just laying there to see where they're going to hit. That's got to drive you out of your mind. Scare the hell out of you. That's what we kids went through.
Moccio, Frank R Rank: CorporalBranch: US Army As far as putting anything below ground, it was almost impossible. If we had to lay a pipeline, a water line, or a sewer line to a certain area we would lay straw on there, light it up with fuel oil, put wood on it and try to thaw out the ground. That would thaw it out maybe six or eight inches and we'd dig that down. We'd keep doing that...
Vietnam
Cusumano, Charles F Rank: SergeantBranch: US Army So everybody opened up their orders and everybody started crying. This guy next to me, he started laughing. I said, what's so funny? He says, where are you going? I said Vietnam and he said I'm not going there, and I said, why not? 199 of us are going, how come you're not? He says, nope, my orders say Southeast Asia. I said you idiot, that's where we're going....He started crying too.
Kerley, Glen E Rank: E4Branch: US Navy If you hadn't been across the equator, you're called a Pollywog and there's an initiation that goes on once you do it for the first time where from the time you get up in the morning to the time all the festivities are over, it's probably an eight hour ordeal.
Brayden, Rodger W Rank: MajorBranch: US Air Force In Luxembourg, I forgot the name of the town, they had a Patton Day parade every year because it was General Patton's Third Army specifically that had liberated Luxembourg during the Battle of the Bulge. He was iconic in Luxembourg... We went over for the parade and it was a very moving experience because two or three kids, who could not possibly have been alive in 1944 and 1945 because they were about ten, maybe, and this was 1983, wanted my autograph only because I was an American in a military uniform.
Cold War
Persian Gulf
Afghanistan and Iraq Wars
Marchi, Gabriel Rank: Senior Airman E-4Branch: US Air Force The guns are a 40mm gun, which is an old World War II gun that they took off the boats, and then a 105mm howitzer which is used by the army in the field, so they just modded it to our plane...there is a lot of recoil, but they just fix these boards underneath the plane to absorb all the shock and all the recoil.