Before Yogi Berra became a baseball legend, he was a young Navy sailor off the coast of Normandy. Before Tony Bennett filled concert halls, he served with the U.S. Army in Europe. And before anyone knew the name John Basilone beyond his fellow Marines, he was helping hold a hard-pressed defensive position on Guadalcanal.
Their stories are different, but they share a place in the history of Italian Americans who answered the call to serve. Some became famous because of their military service. Others became familiar names in sports, entertainment, or public life, while their years in uniform faded into the background.
