Pvt. Anthony Torrieri

Biography and Wartime Service

Anthony "Antonio" Torrieri was born on April 12, 1924 to the late Dominic and Caterina (DiSciascio) Torrieri in Guardiagrele, Italy. He was the son of Italian immigrants who arrived in the United States on December 2, 1937 and departed from Napels, Italy.

He enlisted the service on May 22, 1943 in New York City, New York. He was inducted into the Army on June 5,1943 and had basic training with the 785th Anti-Aircraft Artillery. On September 4, he sailed for England. While there at a training center, he received infantry and hand to hand combat training. In five, six weeks, Anthony crossed the English Channel and landed in Le Havre, France. He traveled by train and truck day and night and arrived in Belgium at a re-placement depot. His stay there was not long, but was miserable in many ways. Then was assigned as a rifleman to Company L, 331st Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division.

Before he knew it, he was in combat and in a foxhole in the Battle of the Bulge. Anthony soon realized that no training could have prepared him for the experience to come: the first dead bodies, GI's, Germans, your foxhole buddies, wounded, killed, the staring eyes and open mouths of the dead, the bitter cold, the crying, screaming etc. remains with him til this day. For Antonio, the Battle of the Bulge was horrible. He cannot get it out of his mind. He still find it difficult to forget and talk about some of his terrible experiences. The Rhineland and Central Europe Campaign was just as bad for him and his buddies.

For some of them who are lucky to escape physical injuries, they are still tormented by their memories. Many times he felt that he would never survive to see his loved ones back home again. Anthony Torrieri participated in three major campaigns, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland and Central Europe.

Gallery

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