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| Cpl. Rugiero Ginnetti was a medic attached to the 1st Infantry Division on D-Day at Omaha Beach. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/150459378/ruggiero-p-ginnetti https://www.pinterest.com/pin/506303183091784327/?lp=true |
Ruggiero P. Ginnetti never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on November 7, 1918, probably in Connecticut. His parents Peter and Angelina were probably both immigrants. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any census or other records of his family. After completed two years of high school, Ruggiero worked in a textile mill.
He enlisted in the army on October 15 1940. His initial posting was to the Panama Canal Zone with a medical department assignment. He eventually became a Tec5 medic in Company A, 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Infantry Division (nicknamed "Big Red One").
The 1st ID first saw combat in November 1942 when it landed at Oran, Algeria. It fought across Tunisia and took part in the invasion of Sicily. I don't know if Cpl. Ginnetti was part of these actions, but given the date he joined the army, he probably was. The next assignment was to take the lead role in the D-Day assault on Omaha Beach.
On D-Day June 6, 1944, Cpl. Ginnetti's landing craft was hit by enemy fire and was not able to land during the morning landing. He helped rescue and treat soldiers and sailors wounded on the landing craft which was able to make it back to the transports to unload the wounded. His company found another landing craft to bring them in. His unit did not get to Omaha Beach until 1700 hours. The beach was still under enemy bombardment. I don't know at what time Cpl Ginnetti was killed, but during this last day of his life his actions earned him the Silver Star. Unfortunately, I was not able to find the citation. More likely then not, some men survived the day due to the medical assistance rendered by Cpl. Ginnetti.
His grave is at St. Michaels Cemetery in Stratford, Connecticut.
Last year on this date I profiled Jewel Graham, 89th Infantry Division. You can read about Jewel 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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