John F. Brienza was born on March 8, 1919 in Oneonta, Otsego County, New York to Francesco (Frank) Giuseppe Brienza (1882-1936) and Vincenza (Jennie) M. De Ambrosini (1888-1971). According to a family tree created in Ancestry by a descendant, his father came to the U.S. in 1892. (The 1930 US Census recorded his father being from New York.) His mother was from Vicenza, Veneto, Italy and came to the U.S. in 1893. His parents were married in February 1912 in New York City. His father was a candy maker at a local confectionery. The 1925, NY State Census recorded John living at 18 Park Ave. in Oneonta, NY with his older sisters Virginia, Lucy and Isabelle and his younger brother Paul. 

John's father died in 1935. He graduated from Oneonta High School in 1938 where his yearbook noted his nickname was “Sonny” and that he was “not so studious, he excels in sports.” He played Basketball for three years and was the Assistant Manager of the Football team while there. In 1946 Oneonta High School memorialized him, along with other WWII fallen alumni, with a dedicated page in their yearbook. After High School he lived on Mitchell St. in Oneonta and worked for a time at Reynold's Greenhouses on River St. in Oneonta. 

He eventually moved to Schenectady, NY and worked for the American Locomotive Works. On August 8, 1938 he enlisted in the NY National Guard. He married Ella Jane Jones (1922-2019) on October 10, 1942 and they had a son Ronald together. (After his death, Ella remarried Edward Baumgardner and lived until she was 96.) Oddly, his enlistment papers recorded he was “Single, without dependents” in March 1944 when his National Guard unit is federalized. This may be because he was single, without dependents when he registered for the guard back in 1938. 

At the time of his units federalization, he was all of 5' 9” tall and weighed in at 150 lbs. He was a member of Co. I, 314th Infantry Regiment, 76th Division. Known as the “Falcon” Regiment. The 202 prefix on his service number meant he was from a “federalized National Guard unit and from the state of either Delaware, New Jersey or New York."

According to the history of the 314 Infantry Regiment, and given the date of his death (Dec. 9, 1944), Private Brienza was likely killed in combat near Haguenau, France. On December 1,1944, the 314th Infantry Regiment of the 79th Division, XV Corps, 7th U.S. Army, moved into the area near Haguenau, and on December 7 the regiment was given the assignment to take it and the town forest just north that included German ammunition dumps. The attack began just before 7am on December 9, and sometime during the night of December 10 and the early morning of December 11 the Germans withdrew under the cover of darkness, leaving the town proper largely under American control. Army medical records show Pvt. Brienza died on December 9, 1944 as a “battle casualty, hit in the Thorax generally and also the Femur. He was given a blood transfusion but died.”

Private Brienza receives the Purple Heart posthumously. He is buried in France and five years later, in April 1949, his body is returned home to Oneonta. Funeral services were held at the Rothery Funeral Home in Oneonta, NY and a Solemn High Mass was held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. He is buried at the Mt. Cavalry Cemetery in Oneonta (Emmons), NY. 

If you notice anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact Jim Greenberg at nez13820@gmail.com

Sources:

314th Infantry Association, http://314usa.org, accessed on February 10, 2022.

Biggs, Jim, “Re: Private John F. Brienza”, Received by James Greenberg, September 19, 2022

Haguenau, Wikipedia, accessed on September 20, 2022 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haguenau

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/150132375/john-f-brienza: accessed 02 March 2023), memorial page for Pvt John F Brienza (8 Mar 1919–9 Dec 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 150132375, citing Mount Calvary Cemetery, Emmons, Otsego County, New York, USA; Maintained by Jeff Hall (contributor 47296194). 

John F. “Sonny” Brienza, Geneanet, accessed September 20, 2022 at https://gw.geneanet.org/brienza1975?n=brienza&oc=&p=john+f.+sonny.

National Archives and Records Administration;Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. 1970 - ca. 1970; NAI:570973; Record Group Number:Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army), 1775-1994; Record Group Title:112

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for New York State, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147

New York Guard Service Cards and Enlistment Records, 1917-1954.Series B2001. Microfilm, 49 reels. New York (State). Division of Military and Naval Affairs. New York State Archives, Albany, New York.

New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 06; Assembly District: 01; City: Oneonta Ward 06; County: Otsego; Page: 13

"Oneonta Soldier's Body to Arrive Monday", Sun and Evening Press, Binghamton, NY, April 30, 1949.

Through Combat 314th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, PA, pg. 59-60.

"U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: Oneonta Senior High School; Year: 1946

Year:1930; Census Place:Oneonta, Otsego, New York; Page:10A; Enumeration District:0035; FHL microfilm:2341370 United States of America, Bureau of the Census.Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.

Supporting Documents