Goldarbeiter, Fritz F. (32001874): Difference between revisions
Add audited Dan Gross timeline enrichment |
Clarify museum roster and Dan Gross research sources |
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|caption=Sgt. Goldarbeiter posing in 1943 prior to being shipped to Italy. | |caption=Sgt. Goldarbeiter posing in 1943 prior to being shipped to Italy. | ||
|birth_place=Vienna in 1917, Godart fled | |birth_place=Vienna in 1917, Godart fled | ||
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Born in Manhattan in 1913, the son of Sicilian immigrants, Ritchie Boy Sgt. Salemi followed his father into the fruit and produce business in Queens while still a teenager. By the mid-1930s, Salemi had begun operating his own produce stores (and competing as a bantamweight amateur boxer) until his induction into the Army in Nov. He was trained at Camp Ritchie in the winter of ‘42-‘43, leading to an assignment as an Italian language interpreter/interrogator of POWs with the 5th Army’s 2680th HQ Company, which he joined in North Africa early in 1943. Salemi was attached to the 3rd Infantry Division from N. Africa to Sicily, Naples and Anzio, the breakout into Rome, and later into Southern France in the summer of 1944. He returned to the Italian theater in Tuscany in the fall of '44 before coming home to the U.S. on a well-earned December 1944 furlough. However, Salemi was sent back to Italy in January 1945 for an assignment with the 10th Mtn. Division in the Apennine mountains. His new duties included reconnaissance/observation of enemy positions, followed by written reports and interrogations of thousands of refugees and prisoners in the Cutigliano and Rocca Pitigliano areas in northern Italy that served as hideouts for Axis troops. During the Po Valley campaign (Feb.–May '45), he earned both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. In June, he left the 10th Division to serve with the U.S. Army of Occupation, primarily in Austria, until his discharge in Nov. He was a contemporary of fellow Ritchie Boys who served with the G-2 operation in Italy, including Alex Sabbadini, [[Goldarbeiter, Fritz F. (32001874)|Fritz Goldarbeiter]] and Bill Galen. After his WWII service, Salemi led a quiet life in the New York area, returning to the fruit and produce business as a self-employed owner/operator and retail vendor. Sal married his wife Liberty (Libby) in 1947, with whom he enjoyed a long life in Woodside, Queens, living until ages 95 and 102, respectively. Their family included sons Dr. Salemi and Rosario O. Salemi, both of whom have detailed knowledge of U.S. Army actions in Sicily and Italy during the war. | Born in Manhattan in 1913, the son of Sicilian immigrants, Ritchie Boy Sgt. Salemi followed his father into the fruit and produce business in Queens while still a teenager. By the mid-1930s, Salemi had begun operating his own produce stores (and competing as a bantamweight amateur boxer) until his induction into the Army in Nov. He was trained at Camp Ritchie in the winter of ‘42-‘43, leading to an assignment as an Italian language interpreter/interrogator of POWs with the 5th Army’s 2680th HQ Company, which he joined in North Africa early in 1943. Salemi was attached to the 3rd Infantry Division from N. Africa to Sicily, Naples and Anzio, the breakout into Rome, and later into Southern France in the summer of 1944. He returned to the Italian theater in Tuscany in the fall of '44 before coming home to the U.S. on a well-earned December 1944 furlough. However, Salemi was sent back to Italy in January 1945 for an assignment with the 10th Mtn. Division in the Apennine mountains. His new duties included reconnaissance/observation of enemy positions, followed by written reports and interrogations of thousands of refugees and prisoners in the Cutigliano and Rocca Pitigliano areas in northern Italy that served as hideouts for Axis troops. During the Po Valley campaign (Feb.–May '45), he earned both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. In June, he left the 10th Division to serve with the U.S. Army of Occupation, primarily in Austria, until his discharge in Nov. He was a contemporary of fellow Ritchie Boys who served with the G-2 operation in Italy, including Alex Sabbadini, [[Goldarbeiter, Fritz F. (32001874)|Fritz Goldarbeiter]] and Bill Galen. After his WWII service, Salemi led a quiet life in the New York area, returning to the fruit and produce business as a self-employed owner/operator and retail vendor. Sal married his wife Liberty (Libby) in 1947, with whom he enjoyed a long life in Woodside, Queens, living until ages 95 and 102, respectively. Their family included sons Dr. Salemi and Rosario O. Salemi, both of whom have detailed knowledge of U.S. Army actions in Sicily and Italy during the war. | ||
== Research notes == | == Research notes == | ||
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| row_source || both | | row_source || both | ||
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== Sources == | == Sources == | ||
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* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2026-07-20 (1 post) | * Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2026-07-20 (1 post) | ||
* Facebook-linked source: [https://austriansoldiers.lbg.ac.at/ austriansoldiers.lbg.ac.at] | * Facebook-linked source: [https://austriansoldiers.lbg.ac.at/ austriansoldiers.lbg.ac.at] | ||