Angelo Savinelli was born on 10 October 1912 in New Haven, Connecticut according to New Haven Vital Records. St. Michael’s Church in New Haven records his birthday as 20 October 1912 which is the date his birthday was celebrated. Angelo was the son of Antonio Savinelli and Vincienza DeLucia and was their third living child, the first being Angelina (Julia) born in 1908, the second being Joseph born in 1910.

The Savinellis were a farming family who worked for farm owners in Hamden and later in Woodbridge for the Perrotti family. By 1918 Vincienza DeLucia Savinelli purchased 13 acres of farmland in Northford on Totoket Road and it became the family farm. The farmland was located on a hillside and Antonio beautifully designed his farm with fruit trees at the top of the hill followed down by vegetables of varying kinds including broccoli rabe. It came down through the family grapevine that Antonio was the first person to bring the broccoli rabe plant from Italy to America.

By 1918 Angelo was 6 years old and within a few years he was expected to work on the farm just as his brother, Joseph, did. Going to school came second to working on the farm. Farming work was difficult for these young boys. However, Antonio was a strict Italian immigrant who gave the orders and both Angelo and Joseph were expected to comply. There was planting, harvesting and driving the crops to market to sell.

During the 1930s, depression years, the farm suffered economic problems because the price of produce dropped dramatically. To make matters worse in April of 1934, Vincienza died suddenly from pneumonia. Because she died without a will and owned the farm, the farm went into probate where it lingered for several years because of Antonio’s failure to administer the estate. There were liens and particularly tax liens on the farm and eventually Antonio and the family lost any equity they might have had in the farm. By 1940 the farm was sold by the Wallingford Probate Court.

After Vincienza’s death Angelo was quite angry with his father. He blamed his father for his mother’s death believing that Antonio deliberately put off getting medical help for her and waiting till it was too late to get her to the hospital. His anger was further compounded by his feeling that Antonio mistreated Vincienza through verbal and physical abuse and mistreated him and the rest of the family in the same way. Further, Angelo believed his father was a womanizer who spent the farm profits on woman while he didn’t have decent clothes or shoes to wear.

By 1935 Angelo was 23 years old, had moved to Hartford and worked for A. I. Savin located in East Hartford from 1935 to March of 1942. He operated gas and diesel powered Caterpillar tractors on constructions sites.

During 1941 Angelo had begun a serious relationship with Phylis Nuzzo and anticipated proposing marriage. They met at Angelo’s brother, Joseph’s home, where he visited often. Phylis and Joseph’s wife Anna were best friends for many years and Phylis also visited the home regularly. However, Angelo’s plans were interrupted by the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and the United States declaration of war.

In early 1942 Angelo was inducted into the United States Army and after thinking about going off to war he said to Phylis, “I’d like to get married now, so while I’m away I’ll feel I have you to come home to.” On March 26, 1942 Angelo married Phylis Nuzzo.

He reported for duty on April 20, 1942 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts for basic training. He was designated Private First Class in the 4144th Army Air Force Base. While in basic training he was trained as an ammunition handler storing and issuing all types of ammunition, small arms and 75 mm. He was also trained as a rifleman in the Infantry. He also received training as an ambulance driver and how to administer first aid treatment.

The following reflects some background about for the First Invasion of Africa.

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States declaration of War, it was agreed between President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, to confront the Germans before tackling Japan. Dwight D. Eisenhower, lieutenant general, was appointed Allied commander for the invasion and the invasion was code named Operation Torch.

In June of 1940 Germany defeated France. Per an agreement between France and Germany, part of France would be unoccupied by the Germans and France would be ruled from the City of Vichy. Of course, France was expected to cooperate and collaborate with Germany. As part of this agreement the French occupied territory of Morrocco, North Africa along with about 60,000 French troops were expected to defend this territory for the German army.

On 15 October 1942 Angelo boarded a ship headed for North Africa. The plan was to strike the French occupied territory of Morocco, North Africa at three main locations, Casablanca, Oran and Algiers.

Under Major General George Patton, Angelo with the 2nd Armor Division and others disembarked at Safi on November 8, 1942 and fought the Vichy French on into Casablanca.

Angelo remembered arriving at Safi about 11 miles off shore. He had to climb down a rope ladder over the open sea with sharks below. Lieutenant Norris was just above him on the ladder froze from fear, unable to move. Angelo took him down the ladder on his shoulders. Thereafter, he always referred to Lieutenant Norris as “that no good chicken shit lieutenant”. At the bottom of the ladder he had to climb into a tank located on a barge. There was the fear of being blown up before ever reaching the shore, a fear that was supported by the debris that was left from other barges that had been blown up. Then there was the fear that if the barge was destroyed the tank would sink to the bottom of the ocean. He had one saving thought, however, he knew the tank was waterproof and could be driven on the ocean bottom. Finally, he reached the shore only to be horrified by the bodies of American soldiers. From Safi to Casablanca the American soldiers fought the Vichy French.

Nearly a year had passed before Angelo returned to the United States on October 24, 1943. He was stationed in California near Long Beach, and Phylis traveled to Long Beach in order to be close to her husband on weekends. Thereafter, Angelo was stationed in various states, Kansas, Kentucky, West Virginia and finally to Fort Mitchell, New York for discharge from the Army on November 20, 1945. He recalled as he was saying his goodbyes that Lieutenant Norris called out to him, “hey Angelo, aren’t you going to say goodbye to this no good chicken shit lieutenant.”

Angelo was decorated with the American Service Medal, Good conduct Medal, EAME Service Medal and the Victory Medal.

Once home from the war, Angelo took a job on an assembly line with Sargant Company in New Haven but he found factory work too confining and went back to working construction with the Marianni Construction Company. As a construction foreman he built bridges and highways – Interstate 95 and 91. From the early 1960s to 1977 when he retired he worked for the C.W. Blakeslee Co.

By 1947 he and Phylis purchased a home on 59 Wilson Street in New Haven where he lived until his death on January 17, 1992 at the age of 79. The home was in need of renovation, and Angelo performed most of the work himself. Pulling down staircases, building porches, installing plumbing and electricity and more.

On February 27, 1948 Angelo and Phylis welcomed their daughter, Virginia, into the world. Almost two years later on December 14, 1949 they welcomed their daughter Angela into the world.

As children, he loved to tell them stories about his own childhood. When he was a young boy he attended a one-room school where all 8 grades were in one room. One day he and another boy misbehaved in class. The teacher told them to go outside and find a good stick so she could whip them. They went outside as they were told, but instead of returning with a stick, they returned with an old dead tree trunk.

Another story involved cat tails and outhouses. Angelo and his friends would pick cattails then lie in wait under the girls outhouse. When a girl sat on the toilet seat they would tickle her behind with the cattails – the teacher was no exception.

His army stories involved giant ants that carried him over the hill while he was sleeping. He fell asleep while back floating on the Mediterranean.

In the early 1950s Angelo faced another crises in his life, one that could take his life within months. He was diagnosed by doctors at the Veterans Administration Hospital with cancer that originated in a purple birth mark on his upper chest that changed to pink. Underneath the skin of the chest were multiple tumors that needed to be removed but local doctors were unable to perform such a surgery. A doctor from California qualified to perform the surgery was called in to consider performing the surgery. Angelo was told that major surgery was necessary to remove the tumors, however, there was a possibility he would not survive the surgery. On the other hand, if he did not undergo the surgery he would have about six months to live. Angelo decided his best chance of survival was to undergo the surgery.

The surgery took place and was successful and was followed with skin grafts from his thighs to cover the chest. After several months Angelo was finally able to go home and continue his life.

Over the next 25 years Angelo's life consisted of raising his daughters, working to support his wife and daughters and relationships with family. When he wasn't working on weekends he worked on projects outside in the yard or in the house. He liked to go fishing and hunting and during the spring and summer he planted a garden. He had a passion for gardening spending time tilling, enriching the soil with manure which smelled throughout the neighborhood, planting, cultivating and harvesting delicious tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, squash, green beans and other.

Angelo had limited education, suffered emotional and physical abuse as a child and young adult, the loss of his mother and finally the war all took its toll. The war in particular weighed heavy in his mind. At night there were the nightmares of hearing bombs explode and experiencing the feeling of imminent danger and finally waking up in a sweat. During the day the memories of dead GIs on the beach at Safi haunted him. His work on construction with all the noise and distraction helped to divert the memories but not all. The compounded mental stresses of his young life, the war and the job stresses all led to self medicating with hard liquor, beer, wine and heavy smoking.

Hard living led to a another life threatening crises in his life. Shortly after his retirement in 1977, Angelo was diagnosed with kidney cancer, bladder cancer and COPD. Surgery was performed at the Veterans Administration Hospital to remove the kidney, regular chemotherapy was scheduled for his bladder cancer and his breathing condition was treated with steroids and other prescription drugs.

Phylis died on February 24, 1981 and he lived alone for the next 11 years making regular trips the Veterans Administration Hospital for follow-up treatments until his death on January 17, 1992.

Throughout the many years he always had the love, companionship and support of his daughters until his death.

Angelo M Savinelli