Remembering

Memorial Day.

It's not about the latest white sale or the deal you can get on a car.  And really, as much as we enjoy it, it's not about the 3-day weekend.

It's about honor. Sacrifice. Remembrance.

And 10 years ago I learned that a member of The Oracle's family made the ultimate sacrifice during WWII.  The only reason we know about this is because I was working on a family pictorial project and asked for access to The Oracle's parent's family photographs.

Mixed in was this image:

Nothing was written on the back of the image - no names, no dates.  Clearly a WWII-era image but who was this adorable young couple?  And why were they in the family photo boxes?

My MIL was able to shed some light on it.  This is Uncle Albert Dentino.  My MIL's mother's brother.  I asked what happened to Uncle Albert?  We'd never heard of him before - including The Oracle.

The answer...he died in a foxhole in France during WWII.

That's it.  Succinct and pretty much devoid of emotion.  When asked, we were told that the family NEVER discussed Uncle Albert.

And with that - my heart broke for Uncle Albert.  His life, his sacrifice - forgotten by his family for 60 years until this old, wrinkled picture was discovered, buried in a box of photos long-since consigned to the bowels of an attic overflowing with junk.

Including, somewhere, the Purple Heart that was awarded to the family.  Lost in the mire of family mementos.

We restored the photo thru scanning and PhotoShop - bringing out the details in the uniform, in Uncle Albert's face.  And thus began my quest to preserve his sacrifice.

I've learned much in just the last couple of years.

Pictured above: Uncle Albert with a Christmas tree, we believe at age 15 or 16

Albert Dentino enlisted on January 16, 1941 - nearly one year before Pearl Harbor.  At a time when the U.S. wasn't involved in the war; indeed we were doing our best to stay firmly out of it.  Yet this 19 year old young man enlisted in the Army National Guard, Company K, 328th Regiment, 26th Division.  His motivations are lost to time of course. Like so many of his time, Albert finished 2 years of high school and dropped out.  Perhaps he joined because he was bored and hoped the military could give him a future.  He wouldn't be the first to do that and he wouldn't be the last.

Yet - I believe in my heart he did it because he knew, like so many others, than the U.S. couldn't stay out of the war for much longer and he was going to be trained and ready when duty firmly called him to action.

On December 22, 1942 his older brother, Rocco, would also enlist in the Army.  And with that, the only 2 sons of an immigrant family - indeed the first Americans in that family - would be off to put their lives on the line for their country. 

I haven't been able to track where the boys began their journey; some records say Rocco was sent to Ft. Devens.  There is no mention of where Albert went.  And since Rocco survived the war I haven't found much on where he served overseas.

In fact, the only reason I know Albert died in France is because my MIL told me.  No records I've found, yet, give the actual location.  I do know that PFC Albert J. Dentino died on December 10, 1944 - barely three years after he was likely sent overseas.

I also know that he never came home.  I found a scanned image of a request, by his father, for a gravestone.  The request was submitted a staggering 5 years after Albert died.  And it's for a gravestone only, specifically indicating it is a marker for a body whose location is unknown.

And with that, Albert's story ended. 23 years old, single, no dependents. And a family who never mentioned him because the pain of the loss was so great.

I have more to find out about Albert's service, chief among them a desire to get a replacement Purple Heart.  I've done the research and it seems you need to be immediate family; yet no immediate family survives him at this point.  The only connection is my MIL, Albert's niece.  I haven't given up on this and intend to enlist the assistance of friends who might know how to get this done.

Because Albert J. Dentino deserves to be remembered.  He was a young man with a whole life ahead of him who, instead, choose to join his country's military to fight the good fight, preserving the freedoms his family made their own sacrifices to attain.

Honor. Sacrifice. Remembrance.

For Great Uncle Albert - who is no longer forgotten, whose courage and commitment to his country will be remembered as long as there are people to tell his story to.