Ralph J. Piliero

Ralph J. Piliero was born in New York City and raised in Astoria, New York. He was drafted on November 11, 1943, at the age of eighteen, the same day he was accepted as a student at Fordham University. Piliero had previously attended New York University for one semester, but “didn’t care for it.” The draft took precedence over his academic choice. On November 23, 1943, he was sent to Camp Croft, South Carolina, where he underwent seventeen weeks of basic and advanced training in physical fitness, weapons handling, and other combat skills.

After his training, Piliero was given a two-week furlough before being shipped out of Boston, Massachusetts. He arrived in England on May 15, 1944. Upon arrival, Piliero was not sure of what camp he was at, or even which country he was in. He immediately noticed the poor conditions of the camp, however, as the camp suffered an epidemic of dysentery. Despite this, further training and practice was conducted.

On July 11, 1944, Piliero was deployed to Utah Beach in Normandy, France, where he moved inland. He was assigned to Company D, 330^th Infantry Regiment, and met a sergeant, whose last name he recalled as Johnson. Piliero recalled that “just a minute later” he was notified that Sergeant Johnson was killed. This incident left an everlasting impression on him; he described it as a jolt of reality of what war was.

Among the various jobs Piliero was tasked with, one that stood out in his memory was being put in charge of “taking care of” (killing) a wounded German prisoner who looked to be in his late thirties.  Instead of killing the German, Piliero waited for his fellow soldiers to leave the site, before calling in medics to assist the man. The medics took the wounded soldier away, and Piliero never saw him again. 

On July 18, 1944, Piliero, continuing in field operations with his unit, was struck in his lower back by multiple fragments of shrapnel from an enemy artillery barrage.  He had multiple entry and exit wounds and a collapsed lung. Piliero considered himself lucky that a medic was nearby to assist him; but, his memory of the incident was spotty. The few things he could recall were being put on the hood of a jeep, and then later being prepped for an operation.

Piliero praised the healthcare he was provided and said everyone that cared for him was “wonderful”. He found it remarkable that, even though no one knew who he was, he was cared for so well. Piliero went on to spend nearly four months in a hospital in England recuperating from his wounds. During this time, he recalled that he lost a significant amount of weight, going from 170 pounds to roughly 115 by the time he was discharged from the hospital in England. Then Piliero transferred to New York, where he had a one-day opportunity to see his family. The following day, he was transferred to Kennedy General Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where he remained until he was discharged in May 1945. After serving his time as a soldier, Piliero went on to pursue a college degree in business.

Although enjoying much of his experience in the Army, Ralph J. Piliero described himself as an outsider of sorts, and never joined any veteran groups. None of the people he trained with were with him when he went to serve in France; and, his time in combat was short. Unlike others on their arrival home, Piliero did not have many war stories to tell.

Piliero received a Purple Heart and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one Bronze Star for his actions in the European Theatre, along with his honorable discharge from the U.S Army in 1945.

Ralph J. Piliero passed away on July 27, 2014.