Samuel Moscatelli
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Samuel Moscatelli was inducted into the Army on June 13, 1942, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Home at entry: Chisholm, Minnesota.
He served as a Corporal and a truck driver with the Ninth Infantry Division in Algeria-French Morocco and Tunisia, North Africa; Southern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe.
Mr. Moscatelli's son shared the following: " When he learned his unit was to ship out, my mother took a train to Georgia and they got married. After a three-day honeymoon, he boarded a ship, unaware of his destination. It turned out to be Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa.
"During the invasion, he initially fought units of the French Foreign Legion which were allied through Vichy France with the Germans. Later, he told me of fighting Italians and German units at the Kassarine Pass, hand-to-hand fighting in the streets of Bizerte and at El Guitar.
"At El Guitar he was knocked unconscious by mortar fire and all the men he was with were killed. He was transferred to light duty because of the concussion and became an Italian interpreter. Later he was a driver at the Casablanca Conference driving Churchill, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and others. He was transferred to England where he drove Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, and others for the USO.
"He went through Italy, France, and Germany with infantry units in action, including the Battle of the Bulge. He never liked to talk about the war and was haunted by nightmares for most of his life. He often said, "I baked in the desert and froze at the Bulge. I hope you never have to do what I did.'"
Mr. Moscatelli was awarded the following: Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with five bronze battle stars and bronze arrowhead, World War II Victory Medal and five overseas service bars.
He was honorably discharged on October 22, 1945, at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The St. Louis County World War II Project. 212.
