Tec5 JASPER J. CATANZARO
U.S. Army #32047378
560th Signal Air Warning Battalion COPIAS CONJUNGE – “Link the Forces”
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Jasper John Catanzaro was born March 20, 1916, in Rome, Oneida County, New York, to Joseph and Mary (Bommarito) Catanzaro. According to the U.S. Naturalization Service, Joseph (Joe) Catanzaro was born in San Giuseppe Jato, Italy, on July 11, 1890, and sailed to the United States from Naples, Italy, on the vessel Europe, arriving on April 29, 1909. He listed his occupation as a merchant. Mary came to the United States with her parents, Bernardo and Vincenza Bommarito, in 1913, also from San Giuseppe Jato, Italy, and settled in Rome, NY, in 1914. Joe married Maria (Mary) Bommarito on July 26, 1915, in Rome, New York. Joe owned a bicycle shop at the time of their marriage. Joe applied for U.S. citizenship on June 1, 1921. .
Jasper was the first of nine children born to Joe and Mary Catanzaro. His siblings were Concetta (Connie) Rose Kochman Coniglio (1918-2006), Benny C. (1920-1978), Frank (1922-1998), James (1924-2012), Jennie Oliver (1926-1994), Mary West (1929-1995), Kathryn Coleman-Herman (1931-2016), and Josephine Harger (1933-2021).
Jasper registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, in Rome, NY. He was 5’8” tall and weighed 155 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. Jasper worked for Revere Copper and Brass in Rome, NY, and was not married. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 24, 1941, in Albany, NY.
T/Sgt. Jasper Catanzaro was a graduate of the seacoast special equipment course of the Department of Enlisted Specialists, Coast Artillery School in Ft. Monroe, Virginia. He was assigned to the 560th Signal Air Warning Battalion. According to mobileradar.org, this battalion was activated in September 1942, in Orlando, Florida. The battalion was part of an assault landing at Port Lyautey Air Field, Algeria, November 8-10, 1942. The 560th was also part of a ground assault in Tunisia from November 17, 1942, to May 13, 1943.
All four Catanzaro brothers served in World War II. Benny served in the U.S. Army. S2c James served in the submarine service, on the Auxiliary Vessels Ferrying Crew No. 1, and later on the USS Midway aircraft carrier. PO3 Frank served in the USNR as a baker and was on board the U.S. Canberra, a heavy cruiser, which was damaged off Formosa by a Japanese aerial torpedo.
Rome Daily Sentinel, July 13, 1943, pg. 9
On December 20, 1943, the Catanzaro family received a telegram advising them Jasper was “seriously ill as the result of an accidental injury incurred in December.” The telegram advised them the injury was a fractured skull with no other information provided. Joe and Mary Catanzaro received a telegram from the War Department on January 15, 1944, informing them Jasper had succumbed to an accidental injury on December 15, 1943, while serving in Algeria.
Daily Sentinel, May 7, 1945, page 6
Tec5 Jasper J. Catanzaro is buried in the North African American Cemetery and Memorial in Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia, Plot A, Row 1, Grave 6. Posthumously, he was awarded the Rome, New York, Medal of Honor. He was the ninth citizen of Rome, NY, to give his life in WWII.
Sources:
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56246108/jasper_j-catanzaro), memorial page for Tec5 Jasper J Catanzaro (unknown–15 Dec 1943), Find a Grave Memorial ID 56246108, citing North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial, Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia; Maintained by MAJ Jimmy Cotton (contributor 48803557).
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21055529/joseph-catanzaro), memorial page for Joseph Catanzaro (1890–1978), Find a Grave Memorial ID 21055529, citing Saint Johns Cemetery, Rome, Oneida County, New York, USA; Maintained by Christine Browning (contributor 48581352).
Fold3.com
https://www.fold3.com/image/712939276?rec=641570487
https://www.fold3.com/image/310770916?rec=299532067
https://www.fold3.com/record/85949485/jasper-j-catanzaro-us-wwii-army-enlistment-records-1938-1946
https://www.fold3.com/image/310770916?rec=299532067&terms=32047378
HonorStates.org: https://www.honorstates.org/profiles/91268/
To Those Who Served: http://tothosewhoserved.org/usa/ts/usatss02/chapter12.html
MobileRadar.org: https://www.mobileradar.org/army_units_501_561.html
American Battle Monuments Commission:
https://www.abmc.gov/North-Africa
https://api.abmc.gov/print/certificate/357360
https://www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/catanzaro%3Djasper
End notes: This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars Project, a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3 web sites. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be accessible via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery. If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact hillerson@beyondbb.com.
Date: 4/15/2024
Supporting Documents:
1940 U.S. Census
His Marriage Record
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