Lewis Albanese
Lewis Albanese | |
---|---|
Private First Class | |
Unit | 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division |
Battles/wars | Vietnam War (DOW) |
Awards | Medal of Honor Purple Heart |
Lewis Albanese (April 27, 1946 – December 1, 1966), born Luigi Albanese, was an Italian-born
Born in Italy, Albanese immigrated to the United States as a young child with his parents and was drafted into the Army in 1965 after graduating from high school. During an exercise in the
Biography
Lewis Albanese (in Italian Luigi) was born in
In December 1966, while on patrol in
His actions enabled his unit to advance further, and he
In 2014 in his native country town Cornedo Vicentino in Italy named a street in his honor.[4]
Medal of Honor citation
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. Albanese's platoon, while advancing through densely covered terrain to establish a blocking position, received intense automatic weapons fire from close range. As other members maneuvered to assault the enemy position, Pfc. Albanese was ordered to provide security for the left flank of the platoon. Suddenly, the left flank received fire from enemy located in a well-concealed ditch. Realizing the imminent danger to his comrades from this fire, Pfc. Albanese fixed his bayonet and moved aggressively into the ditch. His action silenced the sniper fire, enabling the platoon to resume movement toward the main enemy position. As the platoon continued to advance, the sound of heavy firing emanated from the left flank from a pitched battle that ensued in the ditch which Pfc. Albanese had entered. The ditch was actually a well-organized complex of enemy defenses designed to bring devastating flanking fire on the forces attacking the main position. Pfc. Albanese, disregarding the danger to himself, advanced 100 meters along the trench and killed 6 of the snipers, who were armed with automatic weapons. Having exhausted his ammunition, Pfc. Albanese was mortally wounded when he engaged and killed 2 more enemy soldiers in fierce hand-to-hand combat. His unparalleled actions saved the lives of many members of his platoon who otherwise would have fallen to the sniper fire from the ditch, and enabled his platoon to successfully advance against an enemy force of overwhelming numerical superiority. Pfc. Albanese's extraordinary heroism and supreme dedication to his comrades were commensurate with the finest traditions of the military service and remain a tribute to himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.[5]
See also
- List of Medal of Honor recipients
- List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War
- List of Italian American Medal of Honor recipients
Notes
- ^ Service Profile
- ^ a b 1st Cavalry Medic page Archived 2010-12-02 at the Wayback Machine retrieved on March 10, 2007
- ^ "PFC Lewis Albanese, Seattle, WA on www.VirtualWall.org". The Virtual Wall. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ street in his name Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian)
- ^ "Medal of Honor recipients - Vietnam (A-L)". United States Army Center of Military History. August 3, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-06-27. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
References
- "MOH record page". Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
- Anna Ciccotti (May 6, 2013). "Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient Luigi Albanese recognized by Italian author". Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ISBN 978-8890199561 translated in english book Lewis a man, an Hero