An Army document below (reprinted in 1988) lists the medals Armand earned during the war. I thought it might be neat to track them down and list them all here. Enjoy! Click on "comments" above to add your thoughts and/or memories.
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It's hard to find any information online about the Melebus Club. From what I know, it was a social club for Italian Americans in New Haven. The word Melebus was formed by joining the words Medical -- Me,
Legal -- Le, and Bus -- Business (Thanks John!). Anthony was a member, as was Armand. Were there others? If you have any more information, let me know. Below, you'll find a program from the "First Annual Man-Of-The-Year Award Dinner". On page 6 you'll see Anthony Santomasso listed as a General Committee Member. Please also note the menu on the last page. Imagine serving an appetizer today consisting of "Hearts of Celery with Colossal Queen Olives". Seriously?!
A big thank you to John and Bob for helping to gather information for this post. It is a long one, and contains all the information we can find about Edmund's last flight, and also the many ways he has been remembered.
Below, you'll see a United News broadcast which gives a very brief overview of Japan's part in the war and ends with Japan's surrender Sept, 2 1945. The surrender happened close to 1 year after Edmund's disappearance.
From what we know, Edmund's aircraft took off from Emirau Airfield, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea on September 17, 1944. It was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Kavieng, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. The official date of his death is listed as 1/23/46 because he was listed as missing 1/22/45. According to the American Battle Monuments Commission "Without confirmed information to the contrary, a War Department Review Board established the official date of death of those missing as one year and a day from the date on which the individual was placed in missing status." Click here to see the listing.
This website, gives a summary of Edmund's squadron, and offers some information as to when his plane was listed as lost - as early as September 17 1944. If you'd like some more info about Edmund's squadron, nicknamed the Fork Tongued Devils, or about the B-25 Bomber squadrons in general, click here, here and here. The monument below was erected to honor the men missing in action during WWII in the Philippines. "Massachusetts" is engraved next to his name because it is technically where he enlisted (click here to see the website). Keep scrolling for more documents...
Below, you'll find documents memorializing Edmund's service and sacrifice for his country. A Presidential certificate of service, followed by letters to Antonetta notifying her of the medals he was entitled to, and then a letter and memorial pamphlet from the Geometric Tool Company, where Edmund worked before joining the service.
This concludes the documents I have for Edmund. Thankfully we have these remembrances of him, and can take pride in what he did for us and for our country.
Click on "comments" above to add your thoughts and/or memories. A missing notice from the New Haven Evening Register October 20, 1944, about a month after Edmund's disappearance, can be found below. This is followed by two articles, one in English from the New Haven Register and one in Italian possibly from Il Corriere (translated by George below), reporting the presumptive death of Edmund. Lastly, a card of thanks printed in the New Haven Register for condolences sent to the family.
I have many documents pertaining to Edmund, some kept for years by Armand and some found on the internet by John & Bob, which I will share in the upcoming weeks. Click on "comments" above to add your thoughts and/or memories. |