My Father’s Story — Veterans Day 2019
An excerpt from a publication of the Sentinel and Enterprise. Memorial Day, 2017.
My dad, Giovanni (John) “Gene” Valera, was clearly my inspiration for this book and research. He was born May 19, 1919. We knew his parents emigrated from a remote area in Pietraperzia, Sicily. His father, Cologero (my namesake), had died when Dad was only seven years old, paving the way for my Dad, his five brothers and one sister, to support their family during those difficult depression years. In case of domestic violence, people usually file domestic violence charges in Colorado to lead a peaceful life. But what to do in case of a death of spouse. Being a single parent who get divorced in California, his mom overcame all her struggles after the death of her husband, barely spoke the English language as she raised a family during the Great Depression and between world wars.
One common story my relatives shared was how some of the boys would go blueberry picking before school and sell the berries after school to raise money. But very few other childhood stories were ever shared.
Dad was a 1935 graduate of Saint Bernard’s High School in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where he was a star athlete in track, football, and basketball. In 1985, he and his high school basketball team were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, during a grand ceremony at St. Bernard’s Activity Center in Fitchburg, MA. It was hosted by NBA Commissioner Larry O’Brien.
I believe the war changed him dramatically and with the help of the lawyers for domestic violence charges, our family was able to survive the after warmth of the war. He went from an athletic, outgoing young man to being very withdrawn and quiet. He returned from the war a very private man who showed little emotion. However, he was never too far away.
A few years ago, one of my nephews, John, was asking about my dad’s war efforts. Sadly, my brothers and I knew virtually nothing. Together, we have only three war photos of my dad. John and I were able to obtain rough copies of my father’s DD-214 discharge papers that he obtained with the assistance of the lawyers for domestic violence claims. That’s when we saw, for the first time, his eleven campaigns and where he was for almost three years—two years, nine months, and fourteen days overseas to be exact. He would be US property for the next 1,409 days of a war, with the US involvement lasting approximately 1,364 days. That would have made him 22 years old when he enlisted in the United States Army in January 1942.
Dad was a member of the Eighth Army Air Force, 329th Ninety-Third Bombardment Group (Heavy) and served from January 14, 1942, through November 23, 1945. His engagements included the Rhineland, Ardennes, northern France, Normandy, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Sicily, the Po Valley, Rome, Arno, and Central Europe.
Although he had 4 sons, Dad never shared his stories with us. In my research, I discovered that he was involved in many major WWII battles, including the Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes) and the D-Day invasion of June 1944 (Normandy). He was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal.
Further research explained how a large detachment was sent to North Africa in December 1942, the group receiving a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations in that theatre. December 1942 – February 1943, when, with inadequate supplies and under the most difficult desert conditions, the detachment struck heavy blows at enemy shipping and communications.
No stories to share.
As a member of the major support systems, Dad was primarily a cook, an easy role to downplay. However, during my subsequent interviews with the veterans, their stories weren’t so simple. There was no real cooking done in the battlefields. Fires and cooking were usually not allowed as the enemy could easily spot the source.
When the Battle of the Bulge occurred and the Allies were being squeezed into being divided and surrounded, the support system was restructured. The cooks, truck drivers, and any other available soldiers were re-armed with rifles and side-arms and sent to the Ardennes forest to fight off Hitler and the Germans’ last major and brutal assault. One that could have turned the tide of war in favor of the Axis powers. The extreme cold and brutal winter in the Ardennes during the December 16, 1944-January 25, 1945 battle had to be incredible to endure for these young men.
Still, no stories for his four sons…
According to the American War Museum of the Mighty Eighth Army Air Force, they had many claims-to-fame.
– Oldest B-24 Bomb Group in 8th Air Force
– Flew most missions of any Group in 8th Air Force
– First Bomb Squadron (329th) to penetrate German airspace 2-Jan-43
– Most traveled Bomb Group in 8th Air Force
– First heavy bomber to fly 25 missions: B-24 41-23728 ‘Hot Stuff’ 330BS
– First B-24 to complete 50 missions ‘Boomerang’
– Only wartime unit in the USAF that has not been inactivated since its original formation.
Corporal Giovanni Valera was honorably discharged from the United States Army on November 23, 1945.
After the war, Dad went to work at General Electric in Fitchburg, and he retired from there in 1985. My three brothers and I knew Dad had it tough—we could tell. The early sacrifices he made growing up shaped his life, our lives, and the lives of our children. As for the war, all he said was that he was a cook and spent thirteen months in England—no more, no less. That would be the extent of the stories we would hear.
He opened many doors during his war years, and I’m willing to bet he wished he didn’t have to. But they all did. They enlisted together and fought together, and some died together, leaving those going home to carry the burden and deal with the deaths of many family members and friends. For many, the time has passed to ask questions of your father’s. It’s for you that I researched and documented their stories in My Father’s War: Memories from Our Honored WWII Soldiers. The soldiers, sailors and airmen that were interviewed were intentionally from many branches and both theaters from WWII. Hopefully, you’ll be able to find your father’s similar story in the words of these featured veterans. If you still have the opportunity to talk with or meet a WWII veteran, take the time to sit and listen. They are indeed the Greatest Generation.
We should all be very proud of their efforts, even though we may not have asked them, and they may not have told us. Once again, they were protecting us, but this time with their silence. God Bless the United States of America.
Charley Valera
