L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D e a r R e a d e r s , Sunday, June 1 6 t h , i s F a t h e r ' s Day, so happy F a t h e r ' s D a y t o a l l y o u fathers and grandfathers out there, and may happy mem- ories bring a small measure o f c o m f o r t t o a l l r e a d e r s whose fathers are gone now. Hopefully, they are with the angels. *** June 2nd was the Festa della Repubblica Ital- iana, the national holiday to celebrate the birth of the Italian Republic. On June 2nd, 1946, the year follow- ing the end of World War II, t h e I t a l i a n R e p u b l i c w a s proclaimed by public refer- endum, marking the end of the monarchy in Italy. D u r i n g t h e w e e k , t h e Consul General of Italy usu- ally hosts a party to cele- brate Italian Republic Day, just as American consulate officials serving in various cities throughout the world host Independence Day cel- ebrations on July 4th. Many Italian Americans do not realize that the Repubbli- c a I t a l i a n a , a l a n d o f ancient anniversary, is only 78 years old, and if their p a r e n t s o r g r a n d p a r e n t s came to the US in the pre- World War II years, there was no Festa della Repub- blica family celebration to remember, because there was no Festa before 1946. *** On day one of the out- b r e a k o f t h e A m e r i c a n Revolution (Spirit of 76 and Yankee Doodle Dandy), t h e r e w e r e t h o u s a n d s o f people living in the United S t a t e s f r o m g e o g r a p h i c Italy, and hundreds of sol- diers and sailors served who were of Italian ancestry. In N e w Y o r k S t a t e , a F o n d a family had nearly 50 mem- bers who served during the R e v o l u t i o n a r y W a r , a n d Lieutenant James Bracco was killed in action on Octo- b e r 2 8 , 1 7 7 6 , i n W h i t e Plains, New York. In Pennsylvania, serving as a captain in the Continen- tal Army was Christopher Baldi, later a Brigadier Gen- eral, and also Colonel Lewis Nicola. In the South, the Taliaferro family had many members in military service: commander Richard Talia- ferro was killed at the Battle of Guilford Hall in March of 1781. A cousin, Benjamin Taliaferro, served as a cap- tain in the Rifle Corps, com- manded by General Morgan. I n 1 6 1 9 , a t J a m e s t o w n , a certain Lieutenant Lupo was guarding the fort. In 1755, the captain of a Virginia reg- iment at Fort Duquesne was William Peyrone (Perone), serving along with George W a s h i n g t o n — n o I t a l i a n connection — and Colonel I. Corsa of New York State (the B r o n x ) , w h o s e r v e d u n t i l 1765. *** During the Civil War, the proportion of officers and enlisted men of Italian lineage who served was the highest of any ethnic group i n A m e r i c a . S i x o f t h e m received the highest award in the nation, the Congrega- t i o n a l M e d a l o f H o n o r . More, at a later date, about t h e C i v i l W a r , S p a n i s h - American War, and World War I. For now, fast forward to World War II, where, like African Americans in the Vietnam War, a dispro- portionate number of Ital- ian-Americans were serving as potential cannon fodder. D u r i n g t h e e a r l y d a y s o f w a r t i m e h y s t e r i a , w h e n there was talk of interning Italians as well as Japanese- Americans, President Roo- sevelt was dissuaded from t h e i d e a w h e n h e w a s informed by military brass that over 10% of the men and women serving in the US Armed Forces were, in fact, of Italian descent. Indeed, thousands of Ital- ian-Americans died for their country in World War II: in Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. Boston's Little Italy's "North E n d " a l o n e , h u n d r e d s o f black memorial signs were placed above regular street signs indicating a neighbor- hood song killed in action. Hundreds were awarded the Medal of Honor, the Navy C r o s s , t h e D i s t i n g u i s h e d Service Cross, and the Dis- tinguished Service Medals. T h o u s a n d s m o r e w e r e awarded the Purple Heart. One recipient was John Basilone, whom General D o u g l a s M a c A r t h u r d e s c r i b e d a s a o n e - m a n army: honorable and brave G u n n e r y S e r g e a n t J o h n Basilone held up an entire Japanese regiment for three days and nights on Guadal- canal with his machine gun. O v e r a n d o v e r a g a i n , t h e enemy stormed his position until, at last, Basilone had to move because the Japanese he had killed were piled to a h e i g h t a b o v e w h i c h h i s machine gun could not fire. After this exploit and the awarding of the Medal of H o n o r , B a s i l o n e w a s returned to his hometown of Raritan, New Jersey, but he kept thinking of his com- rades fighting and dying in the Pacific. He requested assignment to active duty and was killed in the landing of Iwo Jima. The Navy Cross was bestowed on Basilone posthumously and a navy destroyer was named in his honor. Basilone was the first A m e r i c a n t o r e c e i v e t h e M e d a l o f H o n o r d u r i n g World War II and the only man in history to win the country's two highest mili- tary honors.

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