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Submitted by: Arlene Calabrese

As an adolescent, I remember the patriotism of my family, my Italian family, and their support of their country, the United States of America.

My grandparents emigrated from Italy in the early 1900's. At the outbreak of the war, their only son joined the Army. He, along with other first generation Italian-American sons from the tight-knit community, were mostly deployed to Europe, some fighting the enemy -the Italians.

How does one resolve this conflict - their heritage, their culture...they were a proud people, never denying nor ashamed of their background.

And yet,

From the moment their only son joined the service, my grandparents stopped all talk of the old country, removed their treasured mementos, and when asked why, replied (in their broken English) my son is fighting for our country, the United States of America. American flags were proudly displayed, the banner with a star proudly hung in the window.

We were very patriotic: bought war bonds, used rationing stamps, grew victory gardens with my grandfather constantly reminding us for whom we were doing this, the United States of America.

The aftermath of the war brought change to our community, we assimilated, became formally educated, and adjusted to our rapidly changing world.

The unspoken heroes of the war were those immigrants who, by their strength, courage and willingness to adapt, prepared us to become proud citizens of the United States of America!

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