War Stories

Trained initially as a typist and eventually as a medic, Emil Garippo witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of World War II as the battle raged down the road. Emil Garippo passed away on Aug. 21. The following article is based on an interview conducted on Aug. 8 and is published in his memory. Born in Chicago on April 1, 1923, Emil Garippo was the middle child of Emil and Jessie Tarsitano Garippo. The family lived on Arthington Street in Chicago’s Taylor Street Little Italy. Garippo’s paternal grandparents, from the area around Naples in Italy, and the Tarsitanos, from Calabria, lived …

A bus driver with his father’s sightseeing company before World War II, Donald Ferrone played a key role in a unit charged with transferring materiel from England to Germany after the war. Donald Ferrone was born in Oak Park, Illinois, to Henry and Filomena Trimarco Ferrone, who were from the Little Italy on Taylor Street. He had one younger brother, Francis. Ferrone’s paternal grandparents emigrated from Salerno, Italy, and his maternal grandparents from Naples. The family lived in West Chicago before moving to Oak Park, across the street from Ferrone’s maternal grandparents. Ferrone proudly notes that his grandfather, Anthony Trimarco, …

A First Lieutenant in the Army, Michael Gasparro went from training soldiers at Fort Lewis, Washington, to leading them on aerial assaults from Firebase Bastogne in South Vietnam. The oldest of two sons, Mike Gasparro was born in Chicago to Michael and Theresa Fonzino Gasparro. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Senerchia in 1917, and his maternal grandparents also came from Italy. Gasparro grew up in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, living in a two-flat above his paternal grandparents. Extended family gathered regularly to enjoy his grandparents’ homemade pepperoni, sausage and other foods. “My grandmother would make bread all year long, even when …

by Rosa Morici Rappa as told to Linda Grisolia An American citizen who died in a Soviet prison camp as a member of the Italian army during World War II, Vincenzo wrote a letter to his family that finally arrived more than 60 years later. My father, Vincenzo Morici, was the youngest of six children. He was born in New York City on March 14, 1918, to Diego and Rosa Lo Baido Morici. His father had emigrated to Chicago from Borgetto, a small town near Palermo, got settled, and then sent for his wife and five children. My father attended …

Initially enlisting for a four-year term, James Belmont is approaching 30 fulfilling years in the Navy, with 15 different jobs and four tours on aircraft carriers under his belt. James M. Belmont was born in Highland Park, Illinois, to James and Barbara Brain Belmont. He has one sister. Belmont was 15 years old when the family moved to Deerfield. In 1901, his great-grandfather, Luigi Belmonte, emigrated to Chicago’s Little Italy from Castrolibero, a small town in Calabria. He went home to marry his sweetheart in 1906, and when they returned to the Chicago area in 1913 and settled in Winnetka, …

Originally trained by the Army as a typist, Patrick Mauro insisted on becoming a paratrooper and ended up guarding the border between West and East Germany during the Cold War. The fourth of six children, Patrick Mauro was born and raised in Blue Island, Illinois, to Peter and Caroline Jones Mauro. He grew up in a town that was mostly German and Italian. Mauro’s paternal grandfather emigrated from Carovilli, Italy, to Ladd, Illinois, his father’s birthplace. Mauro’s extended family lived in the Taylor Street Italian enclave, and they visited each other regularly. He remembers sharing delicious homemade meals at family …

John F. Misasi passed away on Oct. 13, 2015. The quotes in this article come from an interview conducted and archived by the Melrose Park Library’s Veterans History Project and are used with the library’s permission. (mpplibrary.org/vhp) As a mechanic and driver during World War II, John Misasi helped keep the American tank assault rolling across Europe toward the Nazi capital. One of three children, John Misasi was born in Melrose Park to Francesco and Maria Nardi Misasi. Both parents emigrated from Calabria, his father from Paterno and his mother from Dipignano. Misasi grew up in Melrose Park with his …

  Part of the Occupation Force in Japan after the war, Richard Colucci pivoted from his training in chemical warfare and as a paratrooper to help rebuild the shattered nation by finding jobs for its citizens. Richard Colucci was born in Chicago in November 1927 to Dominic and Marie Bongeorno Colucci. He grew up in the Taylor Street Little Italy neighborhood, moving a couple of times. “I think there was a leash on people. They weren’t allowed to go out,” Colucci chuckles. His maternal grandparents emigrated from Calabria and his paternal grandparents from Naples. All of his extended family lived …

Stationed in Italy during the Vietnam War, Steven Decker had a remarkable vantage point on the 1968 crisis in Czechoslovakia as an air traffic controller at the U.S. Air Base in Aviano. The middle of three children, Steven Decker was born in Chicago to Roy and Kathryn Tomasello Decker, who were living near North Avenue and Larrabee. When Decker was 3 years old, they moved to Logan Square, where he grew up living close to his Sicilian-born grandparents and his mother’s five siblings and their families. On Sunday mornings, Decker awoke to the smell of sauce cooking in the kitchen. …

Barely out of high school, Vincent Speranza fought nonstop across Europe from the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 until the Nazis surrendered in May 1945. One of eight children, Vincent Speranza was born in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in 1925 to Francesco and Francesca Paratori Speranza. Francesco immigrated from Palmi, Calabria, and Francesca from Sciacca, Sicily. When Speranza was 3 years old, they moved to Staten Island, where he grew up amid a large extended family. Every Sunday at noon, the family took turns hosting a traditional spaghetti dinner with all the trimmings. “A real Italian …