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Al DeFazio

Al DeFazio was drafted into the US Army in February 1943 where he served with the 36th Infantry Division.  He fought in Africa and Italy as an infantryman and was wounded in combat, earning himself a Bronze Star before leaving the Army in 1946.

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Stories from the Veterans Breakfast Club

 Just Turned Eighteen

Penn Hills: August 14, 2015

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Veteran Voices: The Podcast | Valerie DeFazio-Vacula | The Italian Campaign: The Forgotten War

In our March 2016 episode of Veteran Voices: The Podcast, we have a conversation with Valerie DeFazio-Vacula, author of The Italian Campaign: The Forgotten War.  A true-life account of the experiences of Pittsburgh WWII veteran, Albert DeFazio.

As school children, most Americans learned about Wold War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor, the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima. But few people know much about the Italian Campaign during that war. Of all the western fronts in World War II, the Italian campaign cost the most lives.

One of its survivors, Albert DeFazio, didn’t like to talk about his experiences as an American soldier in World War II, but he was also concerned that so little was known about the suffering and death in Italy.

It took Albert decades to be able to describe his experiences in World War II – memories that still haunt him. Now, after seventy years, Albert DeFazio has told his story of the war he cannot forget.

This new, expanded edition, brings Albert’s story to life with new material and images of scenes from a forgotten war.

The book is available through Barnes & Noble or by contacting the author at 412-704-7846.

What’s Inside

(00:01:05)   Guest: Valerie DeFazio-Vacula

(00:37:30)   A Sense of Place: The importance of setting in oral history recording

Heinz History Center: Italian-American Oral History

Ciao Pittsburgh: Remembering The Italian Campaign—World War II’s Longest and Bloodiest Battles