Incorporate OCR findings with exact document citations
Incorporate attributable high-confidence OCR facts
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|caption=Portrait of Sgt. Alex Sabbadini, 1944.
|caption=Portrait of Sgt. Alex Sabbadini, 1944.
|birth_place=Rome
|birth_place=Rome
|rank_final=Technician Third Grade
}}
}}


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<div class="soldier-lead">
'''[[Sabbadini, Alessandro (32626304)|Alessandro Sabbadini]]''' (born 1916) was a Ritchie Boy (from Italy) who trained at Camp Ritchie.
'''[[Sabbadini, Alessandro (32626304)|Alessandro Sabbadini]]''' (born 1916) was a Ritchie Boy (from Italy) who trained at Camp Ritchie. The record lists a final rank of Technician Third Grade. [[:File:1459807756183480.jpg|Source image]]
</div>
</div>


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Alessandro (Alex) Sabbadini was born in Rome to a Jewish family in 1916 and lived 18 years under Mussolini before emigrating to the United States at age 23. After three years in the U.S. he became one of the first Ritchie Boys and was among the few Italian-born Jews to fight with the Allies in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. He graduated from Camp Ritchie in late 1942, received battlefield citizenship in North Africa before the invasion of Sicily on 10 July 1943, and earned the Purple Heart for wounds in the Sicilian campaign. After Sicily and Salerno, he landed at Anzio (Operation SHINGLE, 22 January 1944) near the Sabbadini villa where he had spent summers as a youth, serving with the U.S. Fifth Army.
Alessandro (Alex) Sabbadini was born in Rome to a Jewish family in 1916 and lived 18 years under Mussolini before emigrating to the United States at age 23. After three years in the U.S. he became one of the first Ritchie Boys and was among the few Italian-born Jews to fight with the Allies in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. He graduated from Camp Ritchie in late 1942, received battlefield citizenship in North Africa before the invasion of Sicily on 10 July 1943, and earned the Purple Heart for wounds in the Sicilian campaign. After Sicily and Salerno, he landed at Anzio (Operation SHINGLE, 22 January 1944) near the Sabbadini villa where he had spent summers as a youth, serving with the U.S. Fifth Army.
A Fifth Army authority dated 28 August 1943 identifies him as a technician third grade in the Advance Document Section, attached to the G-2 section, and authorizes him to move with the section's vehicle. [[:File:1459807756183480.jpg|Source image]]


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==