BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J BTR AN. 1-7, 2021 19
Louis M. Giuliano Jr.
passed away on December 14,
2020, at Channel Islands Post
Acute nursing home in Santa
Barbara, California, shortly
after entering hospice care.
He was 93.
Born October 9, 1927, in
the Bronx, NY, Louis was the
son of Louis M. Guiliano Sr.
and Rachelle Guiliano, both
of whom predeceased him.
Louis changed the spelling
of his name to Giuliano in
the 1990s so it would be pronounced
correctly when he
traveled overseas. And it actually
was the original spelling
of the family name when
his ancestors emigrated to
America via Ellis Island,
when a clerk misspelled it.
After being honorably discharged
from the Marines in
1947, Louis returned to the
Bronx to the welcoming arms
of family and friends as a war
hero.
Louis made news in Santa
Barbara in November 2003
when he was finally awarded
a Purple Heart 57 years after
having earned it with heroic
acts protecting his platoon
on Okinawa in World War II.
Having lied about his age to
enlist, the 17-year-old combat
Marine landed on the beaches
of Okinawa in April 1945. He
was ordered to move up into
the hills to protect the beach
area from the Japanese.
Louis and a fellow Marine,
Jacob Christoff, encountered
about 35 Japanese coming
up the trail. The duo opened
fire on the enemy, Christoff
shot a scout, but his carbine
jammed so he started hurling
grenades into the middle and
rear of the column to prevent
them from escaping,
Louis shot a second scout
and a soldier manning the machine
gun, then jumped out of
his foxhole and ran about 50
feet to engage the other two
Japanese in hand-to-hand
combat. He suffered a knife
wound in his left arm, cuts on
his face, a bullet creased his
left leg, was beaten with rifle
butts, and he was kicked in
the groin as he used his K-bar
knife to dispatch the enemy.
When other Marines reached
him, he had already taken
out the enemy and had to be
treated by medics. He spent
six weeks in sick bay recuperating
from his wounds.
Prior to combat, Louis had
seven weeks of basic training,
then advance combat training
at Camp Lejeune, special
training in the Do or Die program,
learning to kill without
a weapon, dirty street
fighting, special weapons and
Japanese style of Judo. The
Marines compacted 15 years
of combat training into these
sessions.
Louis had been inspired to
join the Marines because his
father had already enlisted in
the Army Air Force in February
1942. Louis Sr. was sent to
China with the 14th Army as
part of the Flying Tigers, and
was a bomber pilot.
On his enlistment application,
Louis had changed his
birth year to 1925. But the
Marines allowed him to remain
enlisted because by the
time they found out, he had already
successfully completed
boot camp at Parris Island,
South Carolina. He served
from November 18, 1943, to
March 9, 1947. He returned to
the U.S. in 1946, and served as
personal bodyguard to James
Forrestal, then-secretary of
the Navy. One year later he
was honorably discharged.
Louis got married in 1951
to the former Caroline Colombo
in South Ozone Park,
NY. The couple had two sons,
Robert and Edward, now 69
and 65, respectively. The couple
divorced in 1960 and Louis
remained in California, living
in Santa Barbara and then
Carpinteria for the rest of his
life. Caroline passed away in
Reno, Nevada, in 2017. Louis’s
mother, Rachelle Schnier
(having remarried and widowed)
lived in Carpinteria for
many years, and passed away
in 1986.
Louis was socially active
in Santa Barbara, having
served as an usher
during Masses at the Old
Mission for many years. Actually,
a few times situations
got rough and he had to
“bounce” disruptive people
from the church, even disarming
one who brandished
a knife. He belonged to Parents
Without Partners, was
active in social events at
the Old Mission, including
as general chairman for a
steak barbecue with his son,
Edward, performing on the
drums with his band, The
Rainbow.
In later years, he attended
Mt. Carmel church in
Montecito. Louis was also a
lifelong member of the Elks
Lodge in Santa Barbara. He
enjoyed hanging out at the
Yacht Club and various Starbucks
with friends to shoot
the breeze.
Welch-Ryce Haider Funeral
Chapels handled Louis’s
preparation for flight to
Arlington National Cemetery
for a full military burial.
The date is to be determined.
No wake was permitted due
to Covid-19 restrictions imposed
by Governor Gavin
Newsom. Donations may be
made to the charity of your
choice in Louis’s name.
BRONX – OBI TUARY
Louis M. Giuliano Jr.
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