Tag Archives: Vincent Speranza

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 …