Frank Florian Liss was born the day before Christmas in 1916, in Peru, Illinois, to Frank and Anna (Budziak) Liss. He was the third son born to the couple. Frank Sr. worked as a machinist and ultimately a sheet metal worker at the cement mill. By 1930 when Frank Jr. was 14, the family was living in a home they purchased at 715 Fifth street in Peru. Frank’s upbringing was possibly influenced by his maternal grandmother, Josephine Budziak, who lived just a few blocks away. His paternal grandmother, Josie Liss, also resided in the area living in 1930 in LaSalle…
Tag: SBTS
S SG Alfred Charles Knudtson, Service No. 16079636
Alfred Charles Knudtson, born on 5 June 1921 in Peru, Illinois, was the second child of James C. and Luella (Schmidt) Knudtson. Alfred’s father was a Norwegian immigrant who arrived in America in 1889 under the name James Christian Winter. James Knudtson ultimately settled in Peru, Illinois, where he met and married Luella Schmidt in November 1910. Much of Alfred’s life was spent in his family’s home at 2229 State Street in Peru with his parents and three sisters— Genevieve, Mavis, and Ruth. Their father James supported the family by working when he could as a cigar maker. As a…
1 LT Valerian Emet Klein, Service No. O-819407
Valerian Emet Klein, who entered this world on 26 April 1920 in Peru, Illinois, was the first-born son of Henry A. and Clara M. (Zaniecki) Klein. His early years in his Roman Catholic family were marked by the hardworking ethos of his father, grandfather, and uncle, all employed at Westclox—a local clock factory. Tragedy first struck the family with the death of Valerian’s grandfather, a German immigrant, who succumbed at age 60 to flu and pneumonia when Valerian was just under a year old. Throughout his childhood, Valerian experienced further personal loss; his younger brothers, Howard and William Edward, passed…
PVT Albert Lee Johnson, Service No. 36673535
Military Service In the summer of 1943, 21-year-old Albert Lee Johnson joined the U.S. Army to serve his country in World War II. He trained at Camp Reynolds near Greenville, Pennsylvania and in May 1944 deployed overseas as a medical aidman in the 18th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division. A month later he parachuted into Europe as part of the D-Day invasion. In the ensuing months, PVT Johnson’s resolve was unyielding as he aided his unit across the war-torn landscapes of France and Belgium. Amidst the chaos of one of his unit’s battles in Germany on 15 September…
PFC John Anthony Torchia, Service Number 36438620
John Anthony Torchia’s story is a poignant reminder of the human cost of war and the valor of those who serve. He was born on 27 June 1922, in LaSalle, Illinois, to Anton and Angelina (Colmane) Torchia, immigrants from Parco, Sicily, Italy (now Altofonte). John’s father, Anton, had arrived in America in 1912 at age 16, and married John’s mother, Angelina, in 1920. John’s mother Angelina made her own journey of immigration from Italy to the U.S. in 1906 at age four along with her mother and younger brother Antonio. John’s early life was steeped in the close-knit, hardworking community…
PFC Delmar A Delaney, Service No. 36372055
Delmar Albert Delaney was born on 21 August 1917, in Peru, Illinois, to John and Edith (Meyer) Delaney. When Delmar was born his parents had been married for five years and had two older children: John and Lucille. Delmar had Irish ancestry through his paternal great grandparents John and Mary Cusick Delaney who immigrated to America from Ireland in the 1800s. However, he also had a strong German background through his other set of paternal great grandparents Philip Fouth and Philipena Walter Fouth who had arrived in America from Germany in the early 1800s and settled in Bureau county. Delmar…
TEC5 Clement L. Gillio, Service No. 36323575
TEC5 Clement Louis Gillio was born to Italian immigrant parents, August and Angelina (Benedino) Gillio, in Oglesby, Illinois, on 12 October 1916. Clement’s father, August Gillio, had come to the United States at age 21 to join his older brother Antonio. It’s unclear where August first settled upon arriving. However, in Pontiac, Illinois, in 1906, August Gillio married Angelina Benedino, a young lady from his hometown of Cascinette, Italy, By 1910, August and his wife were living in Oglesby, Illinois, and August was supporting his family by working in the coal mine. In 1920 when Clement was three, the Gillio…
PFC Batista J. Gillio, Service No. 36482154
PFC Batista John Gillio’s story is a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by many young Americans during World War II. He was born to Italian immigrant parents, Louis and Enrichetta Gillio, in Oglesby, Illinois, on 21 July 1921. Batista’s father, Louis Gillio, had come to the United States as a teenager joining his older brothers Antonio and August. He settled near them in the LaSalle/Peru/Oglesby area of LaSalle County, Illinois, and eventually met and married Enrichetta. Together, they had in addition to Batista, two older sons Charles and Louis Jr and two daughters Rose and Mary. Life was challenging…
CPL Bernard John Zawila, Service No. 425509
Early Years Bernard John Zawila was born on 24 August 1921, in LaSalle, Illinois, to Sophia (Swobodzinski) Zawila. At the time of his birth, Bernard’s mother was a widow having lost her husband, Paul Zawila, six months earlier. When Bernard’s father died, the family was living in Chicago where his father had been working for the McCormick Reaper Works as a laborer. In late February 1921 when Sophia was pregnant with Bernard, Bernard’s father became sick with pneumonia. Within two days he died from the illness. After her husband’s death, Sophia must have moved the family which included two sons…
STAFF SGT Anthony Thomas Piraino, Service No. 36433970
Anthony PIraino was born on 15 January 1921, in Lost Springs, Wyoming, to Gaetano and Rose Falica Piraino. He was the couple’s sixth child. Anthony’s father, Gaetano, grew up in Alcara, Italy, and left in 1903 for the United States when he was in his early 20s. Anthony’s mother, Rose arrived in the United States in the late 1890s. Gaetano and Rose met in Peru, Illinois, in the early 1900s and were married on 14 April 1907. At the time of Anthony’s birth, his family was living and farming in Lost Springs in Wyoming on property they owned. Anthony had…