WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES NOVEMBER 19, 2020 7
S. Ozone Park man inducted into Senate Veterans Hall of Fame
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
On Veterans Day, state Senator
Joseph Addabbo honored
the life and sacrifices of a
Queens member of the Greatest
Generation.
Ermondo “Butch” Puccio, 99, a
lifelong South Ozone Park resident,
was presented with a proclamation
celebrating the World War II soldier’s
induction into the New York
State Veterans Hall of Fame.
“It was an honor and a privilege
to be able to present butch with
this plaque and to thank him for
his years of service to our country,”
Addabbo, a member of the Senate
Veterans, Homeland Security and
Military Affairs Committee, said.
“There are not too many of our
World War II veterans left, so it
means a lot to recognize Ermondo
for his service time during the
world’s greatest conflict.”
Puccio was born in South Ozone
Park on April 15, 1921, and at the age
of 21, he enlisted as a private in the
United States Army and completed
his basic training at Camp Davis in
North Carolina.
Before being deployed to California
in 1943, Puccio married his
wife Jeannie, and on Aug. 28, 2020,
they celebrated their 77th wedding
anniversary.
On Sept. 18, 1944, he departed
San Francisco aboard the USS
Arthur Middleton arriving in New
Guinea where he remained for five
months. On March 2, 1945, as part
of a 100-ship convoy, he left New
Guinea for combat zones in the Philippines.
The following day their LST,
or Landing Ship Tank, experienced
engine trouble which left them
abandoned mid-ocean. On March
12, they finally arrived at San Jose,
where they would spend the next
eight months in various parts of
the Philippine Islands before their
November 1945 departure.
While serving in combat, Mr.
Puccio was injured by a .50 caliber
machine gun which fell on him. In
January 1946, he returned to the
United States where, on Feb. 2, 1946,
he was honorably discharged from
the Army.
World War II Staff Sergeant Puccio
bravely served our country. In
a letter provided by Puccio from
Franklin D. Roosevelt to Army Expeditionary
Forces, the president
stated “Upon the outcome depends
the freedom of your lives: the freedom
of the lives of those you love –
your fellow citizens – your people.”
“Our, including time at home with
their families, while some make the
ultimate sacrifice and lay down their
lives for our country,” Addabbo
said. “It is a great feeling to beagle
to give back tour veterans, and this
induction to the NYS Veterans Hall
of Fame for Butch is one small way
that I can help honor a great soldier,
especially on Veterans Day.”
State Senator Joseph Addabbo visits with Ermondo”Butch” Puccio on
Veterans Day. Courtesy of Addabbo’s offi ce
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