Ralph Panetta, decorated WWII veteran from Bay Shore, dies at 101
As a child, Army veteran Ralph Panetta spent part of his time in Italy, before his family settled in Babylon. Credit: Kristy Lanza
During World War II, Ralph Panetta made the choice to help the United States and its allies defeat the Axis powers, his family said.
His decision to enlist in the military proved to be consequential. According to the New York State Senate website, Panetta aided a wounded fellow soldier and helped to hold off the enemy during a battle, all while disregarding a commander’s warning and coming under heavy fire.
These heroic actions earned him the Silver Star on Dec. 6, 1943.
Army veteran Adolph "Ralph" Panetta, 101, of Bay Shore, died of natural causes on June 3 at the Veterans Affairs Community Living Center in Northport, his family said.
Panetta was born on Aug. 1, 1923, in Corona, Queens, to Dominick and Marianna Panetta, immigrants from Italy. He was the second of six children.
As a child, Panetta spent part of his time in Italy before his family settled in Babylon. Despite a language barrier, he was always eager to learn, though he dropped out of school to help out on his family’s farm, his family said.
Panetta had wanted to enlist in the Marines but couldn't because of his flat feet.
"He was disappointed that he ended up in the Army," his granddaughter Kristy Lanza, of East Islip, said. He griped about it, she said, because "he walked just as much as the Marines."
According to the State Senate website, he attained the rank of corporal and became a distinguished and decorated soldier. He received a Purple Heart at age 19 for a knee wound sustained while attempting to neutralize a German machine gun nest on a fortified Italian mountainside; and earned the Bronze Star for "meritorious achievement in ground combat while serving in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations."
Lanza said her grandfather was also honored with the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross and is in the New York State Senate Veterans' Hall of Fame.
After serving in the military, Panetta met his future wife, Angelina Rose, now deceased, when both worked at Mason General Defense Factory, Lanza said. They were married for 60 years and had three children. He and his brother started a concrete business, R & R Panetta.
"He was a tough person, but a sweetheart," said his daughter, Rita Nicholson, of East Islip.
"We called him an ox," Lanza said. "He was very strong-willed, he was steadfast in his beliefs, and he was very honest with you. But he was very sweet, and he was the ultimate family guy."
Lanza said Panetta would call his family daily, "even up until the end." He also loved photographs of his family; he would print out pictures from Facebook and hang them up, she said.
Panetta supported several charities, making donations to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Salvation Army, and was active in a number of veterans groups, including AMVETS.
He was an excellent cook, Lanza said, and he cooked into his 90s, stopping when he moved to the VA facility.
Despite initially hoping to join the Marines, Lanza said her grandfather loved sharing stories of his time in the military and he was a proud member of the 45th Infantry Division "Thunderbirds." His unit took part in the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp, though he wasn't there because he had been shot a few days before. He was, however, invited to a 2010 ceremony in Washington D.C., to commemorate the liberation of Dachau.
"He was flown there, and we got to meet Holocaust survivors together. And right before we left ... a little boy came up to him and asked if his troop had liberated specifically Dachau, and he said, 'Yes,' " Lanza recalled.
"The young boy said, ‘I just want to say thank you because without you, I wouldn't be here. Both sets of my grandparents were in Dachau, and they survived.’ And he shook [my grandfather's] hand," Lanza said. "It’s just a moment that I’ll never forget."
In addition to his daughter Rita, Lanza is survived by his son Randy, of Islip Terrace; eight grandchildren (including Kristy Lanza); and 16 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be conducted at 7:30 p.m. Monday and 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Fredrick J. Chapey & Sons Funeral Home in East Islip. Visitation is 3-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. on Monday and 8:30-9:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Burial follows at the Long Island National Cemetery, Pinelawn.
"He had a lot of human understanding," Lanza said. "He was just a really good grandpa."
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