Rome, NY WWII Fallen

Pvt. Joseph Anthony Galluppi
3206th Quartermaster Service Company

Joseph Anthony Galluppi was born March 1, 1916, in Rome, Oneida County, New York, to Sebastian “Bast” (1887-1979) and Flavia “Florence” Fanfarillo (1886-1968) Galluppi. Sebastian and Florence were both born in Alatri, Province of Frosinone, Italy. They married in Alatri on December 18, 1909. The couple and their first son, Louis, immigrated to the United States on the S.S. Roma which sailed from Naples, Italy, on March 2, 1910, and arrived in New York on March 14, 1910. Sebastian and Florence became naturalized citizens of the United States on September 4, 1928. Sebastian worked as a laborer at an iron mill, on the railroad, and at General Cable Corporation from where he retired in 1955.

Joseph was the fourth child of ten children born to the Galluppis: Louis Michael (1910-1996), Frances Verminski (1913-1975), Michael Anthony (1914-1997), Joseph Anthony (1916-1944), Mary Galluppi (1917-1971), Amelia Nigro (1919-2012), Carmella Wynne (1921-2011), Tomasina Dora Maxim (1923-2016), Margaret Mayes (1925-?), and Barbara Jean Wells (1930-2021).

Joseph attended Rome schools and Rome Free Academy. He was a member of St. John the Baptist Church, its Holy Name Society and Young Men’s Club, and Rome Lodge 901, Loyal Order of Moose.

Joseph Galluppi registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, in Rome, New York. He was 5’8” tall, weighed 145 pounds, and had brown hair and brown eyes. He lived with his parents at 100 Jasper Street, in Rome, New York, and worked for General Cable Corporation. Joseph served with the Air Raid Wardens as an Assistant Post Warden for Sector 2 in Rome, New York, in 1942.

Joseph was an usher for Louis’ wedding in August 1939. Joseph was the best man for his sister, Frances, when she married John Verminski in February 1942.

Joseph enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 25, 1943, in Utica, New York, and was inducted February 1, 1943. Joseph was stationed at a camp in California, and with the Medical Corps, William Beaumont General Hospital, Fort Bliss, Texas. Joseph spent an 11-day furlough with his family in late October and early November, 1943, returning to Camp Pickett, Virginia, on November 4, 1943. Shortly after Christmas 1943, he was sent overseas from Camp Pickett.

Joseph was reported Missing in Action as of April 28, 1944, and later declared Killed in Action on that same date. Pvt. Galluppi was with the 3206th Quartermaster Service Company as part of Operation (Exercise) Tiger. Exercise Tiger was to ready Force U for landing at Utah Beach in Normandy in the spring of 1944 on what later became known as D-Day. The force included 221 vessels in and around Lyme Bay on the south coast of England (Slapton Sands) with Pvt. Galluppi on LST 531 (landing ship, tank).

Suddenly, on April 28, 1944, at 0217, LST 531 erupted in flames because of two torpedo hits from German E-boats. Reports indicate she continued to return fire as she sank in less than 10 minutes. Reports also indicate that of the 496 men on aboard, 467 died due to the explosion or the sinking. The body of Pvt. Joseph Galluppi was never recovered.

Over 750 men lost their lives during Exercise Tiger. “Tiger” had the third largest death toll in a single battle surpassed only by Pearl Harbor and D-Day itself.

Pvt. Joseph Galluppi is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom. His name is also included on the Sherman Tank Memorial, South Devon, Torcross, Slapton Sands, England.

Pvt. Galluppi was awarded the Purple Heart and the Rome Medal of Honor (Rome, New York) posthumously.

Pvt. Joseph Galluppi was among those honored by a flag hung in the First Ward of Rome, New York, honoring all those from that area who served in WWII and all those who lost their lives.

The United States Exercise Tiger Foundation, based in Columbia, Missouri, has worked to remember those who lost their lives during this training operation. Through their efforts, a portion of Missouri State Highway 54 is named Exercise Tiger Expressway.

The Missouri Exercise Tiger Army and Navy Anchor Memorial is located in Columbia, Missouri, and serves as a beacon of remembrance and hope for all who go in harm’s way.

At the WWI Liberty Memorial, Kansas City, Missouri, on the Walk of Honor, a granite brick from Charles Griffey, a survivor of Exercise Tiger, honors the LST boats that were part of Exercise Tiger.

Joseph’s sister, Margaret Galluppi Mayes, diligently recorded any scrap of information or mention of Joseph. She amassed multiple binders full of information to keep Joseph’s memory alive. In the Daily Sentinel, Rome, New York, November 10, 2022, she said “When I’m gone, I have a certain niece that’s getting all of this. And I said to her, ‘You have to promise me that you keep this up, so everyone will know about our family.’ We’re preserving if for the next generation.”

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.

Sources:

Daily Sentinel, Rome, New York: https://www.romesentinel.com/the-weekender/features/rome-native-killed-in-exercise-tiger-remembered-78-years-later/article_084d6358-a809-5676-8546-55dde3272467.html

FindAGrave:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56289913/joseph-anthony-galluppi

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21262003/sebastian_galluppi

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21261996/flavia_galluppi

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21262000/louis_michael_galluppi

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46309199/frances_verminski

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21262002/michael_anthony_galluppi

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21262001/mary_galluppi

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/92377108/amelia_nigro

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/92495592/carmella_t_wynne