In the course of an exemplary 22-year career in the Army, Enrico Clausi has advanced from Second Lieutenant to Lieutenant Colonel while tackling everything from training soldiers and officers to mobilizing troops and equipment. Enrico A. Clausi was born in Chicago and grew up in the Italian neighborhood of Homan and Chicago avenues. “Even the garbage cans were painted red, […]
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Enlisting in the Army at the height of the Vietnam War, Jack Ross was at constant risk throughout his tour of duty as a point man tasked with scouting out enemy positions. The oldest of three boys, John “Jack” Rosucci was born in Chicago and lived in his maternal grandparents’ building near LaPorte and Armitage avenues until the family moved […]
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Badly wounded in the early days of the war in the Pacific, Neil Iovino nevertheless survived the Bataan Death March and 44 months in jungle prison camps. The youngest of eight children, Neil Philip Iovino was born on the West Side of Chicago on Jan. 3, 1918. His parents, Domenico and Richetta Serpico Iovino, came to Chicago from Scisciano, […]
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As a paratrooper for the 101st Airborne during World War II, it was Louis Venditti’s unenviable duty to jump behind enemy lines in the pre-dawn hours before D-Day and pave the way for the Allied assault. Louis Venditti was born in Chicago and grew up in the Hungry Hill neighborhood of Chicago Heights. He attended Bloom Township High School and […]
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Trained to fight in the deserts of North Africa during World War II, Vincent Allegrini earned the coveted Air Medal while organizing and overseeing a mission to bring desperately needed supplies to embattled troops in the jungles of the South Pacific. Editor’s Note: The following profile was assembled from the diaries of Vincent Allegrini, interviews with his son Robert, and […]
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Refueling fighter jets during Desert Storm, Dominic Guerrieri flew over burning oil fields, saw bomb flashes and witnessed artillery launches into Kuwait. The youngest of six children, Dominic Guerrieri was born in Chicago and grew up on the Far Northwest Side of Chicago near Foster and Cumberland. His father, Carmen, and mother, Rita (Mariano) were born in Chicago. His grandparents […]
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Born in Italy and trained by the Army as a cameraman, Gino Bartucci toured the American during the Vietnam War photographing atomic bombs, filming bombers flying overhead and helping create documentaries. Gino Bartucci was born in Malvitani di Rende, a small village in Calabria. Of the nine children born to Vincenzo and Maria Carmella (Pisello) Bartucci, six survived infancy. The […]
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Army Sergeant Albert Onesti stared death in the face time and again, emerged from World War II a better man for it. Albert Onesti was born and raised in Chicago. He graduated from McKinley High School and was drafted into the Army one month later. He completed basic training with the infantry and embarked for places unknown. The ship was […]
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Realizing is dream of becoming a photographer by joining the Navy during World War II, Ralph Triggiano captured the enemy’s presence in the Pacific from 10,000 feet and the horrors of war from point-blank range. Ralph Triggiano was born in Chicago and grew up in the neighborhood of Taylor and Peoria streets surrounded by his maternal grandparents, aunts and uncles. […]
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A surgeon serving in Vietnam, Dr. Paul Rubino still vividly recalls a four-day stretch during which he and his team toiled to save the lives of a couple dozen severely wounded Marines. Paul Rubino was born in Bitritto, a small town near Bari, Italy. When he was 12 years old, he and his mother, Domenica, immigrated to Chicago where his […]
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