I had the opportunity to interview 103 year old WWII Army veteran, PFC Edmund J. Di Bianco. Mr. Di Bianco earned two Bronze Stars for meritorious achievement in ground combat against an armed enemy during WWII in the European theater of operations, as well as receiving the French Legion of Honor Medal for his service to France. One of his Bronze Stars was earned during the battle for the town of Saint Lo. During a night battle with the enemy Mr. Di Bianco witnessed a U.S. Soldier get hit. The soldier was trapped in crossfire, and unable to move. Mr. Di Bianco could hear the wounded soldier calling out. Risking his own safety Mr. Di Bianco managed to reach the soldier while bullets sped past him. He then carried the wounded soldier out of harm’s way before both taking cover in a shallow ditch. Mr. Di Bianco stated, “A hero is a guy who sees a guy get hit, and says if I go there I could get killed, but I’m going there anyway. All I knew was that I had to get that guy out of the firing line.”
When asked if he ever suffered any wounds he responded that he was hit by German shrapnel during a frontline battle. He never applied for a Purple Heart even though he was encouraged to do so by his fellow soldiers, but he declined. As he described it, “I had paper cuts that were worse.” Mr. Di Bianco was initially assigned to the Navy, but as he stated he requested an appeal and successfully argued his case to the draft board to be allowed to enter his preferred military branch, the Army. Mr. Di Bianco confided that he and his brother who was a year older than him wanted to serve together, but after the Sullivan Brothers incident neither he or his brother wanted to serve in the Navy. Mr. Di Bianco was eventually sent to Fort Campbell, Kentucky for anti-tank training. He spent more than a year at Fort Campbell, instead of the usual three months of training. The extra amount of training he attributes to him surviving combat, as he was ingrained with several tactics that became second nature due to repetition. Mr. DiBianco served under General George S. Patton, a man he greatly admired and respected. After the war Mr. Di Bianco returned to the states and resumed his studies at NYU, earning a law degree. He married and raised a family. His wife passed on their 50th wedding anniversary in 2003. I would like to thank Mr. Oscar Celico, Mr. Di Bianco’s neighbor for helping to arrange the interview. His assistance is greatly appreciated. If you believe that Mr. Di Bianco should be awarded a Purple Heart Medal for the injury he sustained during his frontline battle, please share this post with others and let's see if we can get this man the medal he most certainly deserves. |
AuthorTadeous Furlepa is a writer who enjoys researching and writing historical World War II stories. Prior to him becoming a published author he spent more than thirty years in the IT Industry as a Senior Analyst Archives
February 2020
Categories |