L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY E very day, thou- sands of soldiers at J o i n t B a s e L e w i s - McChord out- side Tacoma, Wash., walk past Albanese Hall but it's likely that very few, if any, know its history. Used as a training facili- ty, the hall was named in h o n o r o f L e w i s ( L u i g i ) A l b a n e s e , w h o d i e d i n 1966 at the age of 20, after serving his country during the Vietnam War. What makes Albanese unique is that he is the only Italian- born American who was in V i e t n a m t o r e c e i v e t h e Medal of Honor, his adopt- e d c o u n t r y ' s h i g h e s t a n d most distinguished award for valor. While working at Boeing in the mid-1960s, Albanese w a s d r a f t e d i n t o t h e U S A r m y a n d s h i p p e d t o V i e t n a m i n A u g u s t 1 9 6 6 . Barely three months later, on December 1, 1966, as his unit was moving through dense forest, they encoun- tered heavy fire from close range. As other members of his unit continued to press f o r w a r d , A l b a n e s e w a s ordered to protect his pla- toon's left flank. S u d d e n l y , s n i p e r f i r e e r u p t e d f r o m a n e a r b y ditch. Acting on instinct, Albanese fixed his bayonet and charged into the ditch, t a k i n g o n h e a v y f i r e . H e advanced about 350 feet, killing six snipers along the way. Mortally wounded and out of ammunition, he con- tinued to attack, killing two more armed snipers in bru- tal hand-to-hand combat. He died from his wounds the next day. It was not until the fire- fight was over that his pla- toon found his body still in the ditch and realized what he had done. The 20-year- old, who had leapt selflessly into what he thought was a single sniper hole, had actu- ally entered a well-prepared and entrenched defensive p o s i t i o n . T h e d i t c h w a s manned not just by a lone sniper but by a large contin- g e n t o f V i e t C o n g w h o planned to mow down sol- diers from the left as the platoon was lured forward. By accident, Albanese foiled t h e i r p l a n s . E i g h t o t h e r s died that day but Albanese's actions saved many more lives. For his bravery, Private F i r s t C l a s s L e w i s Albanese, who served with the 7 th Cavalry, 1 st Calvary Division, was awarded the Medal of Honor posthu- mously. His family was at the Pentagon on February 1 6 , 1 9 6 8 , t o r e c e i v e t h e award from then-Secretary o f t h e A r m y S t a n l e y R . Resor. A l b a n e s e ' s M e d a l o f Honor citation contains the following description: "His unparalleled actions saved the lives of many members of his platoon who other- wise would have fallen to t h e s n i p e r f i r e f r o m t h e ditch, and enabled his pla- t o o n t o s u c c e s s f u l l y advance against an enemy f o r c e o f o v e r w h e l m i n g numerical superiority. Pfc Albanese's extraordinary heroism and supreme dedi- cation to his comrades were c o m m e n s u r a t e w i t h t h e finest traditions of the mili- tary service and remain a tribute to himself, his unit and the US Army." H o w d i d a y o u n g Italian-American, barely out of his teens, come to this point? He was born Luigi Albanese on April 27, 1946, in Cornedo Vicentino in the province of Vicenza, Italy. When he was two years old, A l b a n e s e c a m e w i t h h i s m o t h e r t o t h e P a c i f i c Northwest to join his father Rodolfo, who had opened a pizza shop in Seattle. The r e s t o f h i s s h o r t l i f e w a s u n r e m a r k a b l e , l i k e t h o u - sands of other young men of that era. In 1968 a Seattle Times r e p o r t e r , w r i t i n g a s t o r y about Albanese's one-man attack, wanted to get a bet- t e r i d e a o f w h a t m a d e Albanese tick. He went to F r a n k l i n H i g h S c h o o l t o interview one of his teach- ers. "He was an all-around g o o d c i t i z e n , " s a i d t h e teacher. "[He was] just one of the boys who come and g o a n d d o n ' t a t t r a c t t o o m u c h a t t e n t i o n b e c a u s e they're good citizens." It's true: Albanese was not an academic overachiev- er or an all-star athlete. He enjoyed woodworking and created sets for the school's drama department. For the most part, his grades were average. He earned B's in art and in technical draining and C's in woodworking and architectural drawing. After he graduated from high school in 1964, he got a job at Boeing. But in 1965, a s t h e V i e t n a m W a r w a s heating up, he was drafted a n d s h i p p e d o v e r s e a s . Barely a year later, he was d e a d . H e i s b u r i e d i n E v e r g r e e n - W a s h e l l i Memorial Park in Seattle, and his name can be found on panel 12E, row 131, of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC. In 2013, Italian author a n d a t t o r n e y F r a n c o Lovato published a book on Vietnam called Echi di P i a n t o d a l l ' I n d o c i n a Francese (Echoes of Tears f r o m F r e n c h I n d o c h i n a ) . During his research, Lovato learned about Albanese and ended up writing about his heroism in his book. During a n a u t h o r r e a d i n g i n a Vicenza bookstore in 2013, s e v e n A m e r i c a n v e t e r a n s from the Vietnam War were in the audience. O n e o f t h e s e w a s R o n Reynolds. "I think the story of Luigi Albanese and his heroism will help strength- e n t h e t i e s o f f r i e n d s h i p between the Italian and the American communi- t y h e r e , " s a i d R e y n o l d s . "You have a frontline exam- p l e o f a n I t a l i a n w h o migrated to the US at the a g e o f t w o , b e c a m e a n American citizen, went to our schools... joined the mil- i t a r y a n d p e r f o r m e d h i s duties in a totally profes- s i o n a l m a n n e r w i t h t o t a l c o m m i t m e n t , w i t h t h e utmost sacrifice." R e c o g n i t i o n f o r Albanese's heroism contin- ues to accrue. In his birth c i t y i n I t a l y , a s t r e e t i s named in his honor. And a u t h o r L o v a t o , w h o w a s inspired by Albanese's short life, went on to create a doc- u m e n t a r y f i l m c a l l e d L a Guerra di Luigi (Luigi's War) which premiered at the 70 th annual Venice Film Festival. Lewis Albanese: An ordi- nary citizen who performed an extraordinary feat. As Albanese's teacher told the Seattle Times in 1968: "I don't recall anything unusu- al about him, but then, most of the best people never do get in the limelight, until they do something like he did." RITA CIPALLA L e w i s A l b a n e s e : o r d i n a r y c i t i z e n , extraordinary courage Lewis Albanese, right, was in Vietnam for just three months before being ambushed and killed by enemy fire. His bravery in waging a one-man attack earned him the Medal of Honor posthumously On Memorial Day 1968, Rosita (left) and Giannina Albanese, Lewis's sister and mother, arranged flowers on his grave in Seattle's Evergreen- Washelli Memorial Park. (MOHAI) Albanese's grave in Seattle (Find A Grave Memorial)

• Cover