Over 250 guests celebrated our Independence and honored our veterans at the St. John Parish Life Center on Saturday evening, June 29th.
Sponsored by the Arthur J. Corr Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, a patriotism theme permeated the evening with the presentation and posting of our colors by the Golden Gate High School Junior ROTC Color Guard, followed by a 10 minute video of how our National Anthem came to be written by Francis Scott Key during the battle of Baltimore at Ft. McHenry in September of 1814.
When the video finished, everyone stood and sang The Star Spangled Banner with such vigor and emotion that the room seemed to shake. WW II veteran, Sgt. Robert McDonald then played taps for our fallen heroes. “It was truly a somber moment” said Marianne Middlemiss, with tears in her eyes when Sgt. McDonald had finished.
Before saying grace, Fr. John quipped, “After watching that video, I am happy to say that I am now an American Citizen.” Fr. John was born in England of Irish parents.
Tony Avalon entertained the guests with “Sounds of Sinatra” songs. One woman said, “If I did not see him (Avalon) singing, I’d swear it was Frank Sinatra.” Eileen Fuller also entertained everyone by singing the songs of each branch of the Armed Forces, accompanied by Tom Oram.
Frisco’s catering served up a delicious meal.
Highlighting the evening was the presentation of awards to three of our treasured veterans. WW II Sgt. Anthony D’Antuono, who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and was severely wounded. After spending several months recuperating, Anthony was sent back into battle with the 101st “Screaming Eagles” Division to defend Bastogne. He was severely wounded again and spent 11 months in a Paris hospital before being shipped home and honorably discharged with a 100 percent disability. For his heroic deeds, Sgt. D’Antuono was awarded the Bronze Star, two purple hearts, the Expert Combat Infantryman’s Badge and the European Ribbon.
The second honoree was Sgt. Douglass Roth, a veteran of the Vietnam War, who was drafted into the United States Army in 1964. After completing basic training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey and paratrooper training at Ft. Benning, Georgia, Doug was shipped to the war zone in Southeast Asia where he was assigned to the 101st “Screaming Eagles” Division, as a door gunner aboard a Falcon Helicopter Gunship.
Sgt. Roth logged over 1,400 combat hours in the air, receiving 42 Air Medals as well as the jump Medal and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. After contacting Agent Orange, Sgt. Roth returned home and was honorably discharged with a 100 percent disability in 1966.
The Knights third honoree was Staff Sgt. Marc Scialdo. Sgt. Scialdo was killed on March 11 of this year when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Kandahar City, Afghanistan. It was his 16th month wedding anniversary. The 31 year old graduate of St. John Neumann High School joined the United States Army following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our country. In his homily at Sgt. Scialdo’s funeral, Fr. John said, “Today we honor the courage that Marc has shown,” adding, “He gave us the greatest gift of love, laying down his life for others.” He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star.
All the honorees were given plaques by outgoing Faithful Navigator John Fazackerley and incoming Faithful Navigator Bill Wright. Each plaque was engraved with the Knights of Columbus 4th Degree Logo and thanked them for their service. They were also presented with American flags that had flown over the United States Capitol along with a certificate attesting to that fact.
Receiving the Posthumous award for Sgt. Scialdo was his grieving widow, Kara.
Master of ceremony Knight Bill Janes gave a vivid description of “The POW MIA Remembrance Table.” It is a small table in a place of h
onor and is set for one. The table is our way of symbolizing the fact that members of our profession of arms are missing from our midst. They are commonly called POWs or MIAs. We call them “Brothers.” They are unable to be with this evening, so we remember them. S/K Janes asked everyone to make a promise to remember those who have given so much and remember through the symbolism of The White Table.
The Arthur J. Corr Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus wish to thank everyone who made this tribute to our nation and to our veterans a wonderful success.
God Bless America.