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ALFREDO  DIONISIO (1919-1945)

Alfredo Dionisio, son of Nicola Dionisio and Lucia Spagnuolo, was born march 28, 1919 in Lapeer Michigan where his parents had emigrated, his family and him returned to S. Ippolito, Italy in 1922 where he grew up and eventually received his diploma in ragioneria. Soon after, he decided to take his required six month military course to become an army officer, which could have been postponed but he wanted to get it over with and then concentrate on his professional career or continued education without interruptions, but at the end of the six months, probably because of the preparations for the second world war, he was kept in the army. He later joined the Alpine Brigade and was stationed in northern Italy. At the same time he was enrolled at the university of Rome.
After being promoted to lieutenant he was assigned to a border guard post at the Austrian border. When Italy surrendered to the Allies in september 1943 his post was overrun by the Germans and he and the entire garrison taken prisoner. Before his capture he destroyed his diary which he had kept up to then, as prescribed by military code. He started another one on september 12 as he began his captivity as prisoner of war which was spent in different concentration camps all with very meager food rations and bad conditions in general. In april 1944 he became ill with pleurisy and transferred to the hospital but his condition deteriorated steadily because of malnutrition and lack of medical attention. His health conditions caused the German authorities to authorize his repatriation but that never happened probably because of the precarious situation in Germany at that time. In january 1945 he was transferred to the horrendous camp of Fullen.
Some food and other supplies were evidently available to the prisoners through smugglers at a high price but the money was scarce and so was the number of items that the prisoners could swap. The same situation existed in the hospital where he swapped everything he had for food. The only thing he had left and did not want to give up was his gold ring which was a gift from his brothers and sisters for his high school graduation but it too had to go. His diary entry on that occasion reads: I am hungry and sick and all is justified. It was april 25 1945. He died on june 11, 1945, seven days after the arrival of the allied forces.
Two soldiers from nearby towns who were with him at his death bed brought to the family the news of his death and a few personal items which were of no value to anybody but him including his diary which he compiled almost daily until he was too ill to do so.
His remains were returned home in 1951 and are currently resting in the S. Ippolito cemetery
The town square in S. Ippolito which was Piazza Santa Lucia as been named Piazza Alfredo Dionisio.


 

 

 
 
 

~ on line dal 10 Ottobre 2005 ~

Created by Valentina & Lorenzo Coscarella