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| Sgt. John Lanzi served with the 1st Special Service Force at Anzio. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/121413002/john-lanzi https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1st_Special_Service_Force_members_being_briefed_at_Anzio_3396066.jpg |
John Lanzi never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on August 24, 1918 in New Jersey. His parents Peter and Banno were both born in Italy and came to America in 1912 and 1914, respectively. His father worked as a plumber. John had one older brother, two younger brothers, and two younger sisters. After finishing a grammar school level of education he worked as a watchman. He joined the National Guard in 1936 and the army in 1938.
He reenlisted into the army on February 11, 1942. He became a sergeant in Company C, 3rd Regiment, 1st Special Service Force, better known as The Devil's Brigade.
This elite American-Canadian commando unit was created in the summer of 1942 with a goal to be deployed in winter combat, likely in Norway. The Americans in this unit were all volunteers but they joined up not knowing any details about the unit, only being told it was a parachute unit. The men were trained to fight behind enemy lines and worked on specialized skills like skiing, rock climbing, and demolitions.
The 1st SSF's first combat assignment in July 1943 was to retake the Alaskan island of Kiska from the Japanese, but the enemy withdrew before it happened. It was next sent to fight in the Italian mountains in November 1943.
The 1st SSF was brought to Anzio as reinforcements on February 1, 1944, about a week after the Americans landed. It was while at Anzio that this unit was named "The Devil's Brigade" by the Germans. It would be 99 days before the unit was relieved. Sgt. Lanzi was killed on February 8, 1944, a time when the 1st SSF was sending out numerous aggressive patrols to keep the Germans at a distance.
His grave is at Glendale Cemetery in Bloomfield, New Jersey.
Last year on this date I profiled Robert Green, 5th Infantry Division. You can read about Robert here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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