Today, I salute all the brave men and women who have fought to keep America safe and free. Thank you for your service to our country. We, the patriots of America, are extremely grateful for your selfless sacrifice and dedication. Every day should be Veterans Day.
Now, I would like to turn personal and speak of a man I have known and loved my entire life who has served this country. My dad, Domenick Bellissimo.
He was born Domenico Bellissimo and came to America at 15 years old. He dreamt his whole life of coming to America. He used to write letters to his father from his mother (she couldn’t write), and in the end, he would add himself, “I want to come to America.” He was thrilled the day his father sent for the family. He came to America and embraced all it had to offer.
Then, Just 6 years later, he was drafted into the United States Army. He willingly went to do his duty. He says they all boarded the train in their woolen uniforms, and there they went..boogie boogie boogie all the way to Mississippi. He said it was so hot there, and they were all sweating and could not wait to shower. At some point, his first Sgt. called him over and said, “Bellissimo, how old are you” My dad replied, “21, sarge,” and the Sarge said, “You are not 21; you look like a baby, go shave that peach fuzz off your face”. He also told my father to never volunteer for anything. “if they order you to go, then go, but never volunteer. At one point, my father told him he thought he was going somewhere else, and he said, “Bellissimo, you ain’t going nowhere. You are going with me. Wherever I go, you go. Got it? My dad replied, “Got it, Sarge.”
While in Mississippi doing his basic training, they learned that my dad was not an American citizen. They were in a pickle and didn’t know what to do. He was back and forth to Washington twice, trying to straighten things out. His last time there, he asked if he could speak. He said, “I am an American. I live in America, and I am an American, and I will do whatever I have to do to protect my country. The Sgt said, “That is all we needed to hear,” so they got him his citizenship. This was the time of WWII. He could easily have gotten out of it. But no, my father wanted to do his duty.
I have heard many stories of those days in Mississippi, preparing for the Philippines’ jungles and the maneuvers in the West Virginian mountains. He drank slowly from his canteen as he wanted his water to last. Some guys drank theirs fast and then wanted some of my father’s. If they ever had no more water, they would actually look for a cow print where there would be a little puddle of water, scoop it out, and drink it. I also remember a story of when they were out doing maneuvers, and he had some spaghetti and sauce his mother sent him, and they made it. It was very dark outside, and it all spilled out onto the ground when draining the spaghetti. My dad and all the other soldiers who were so hungry all started picking a piece up. Piece after piece, they would say, “Oh, this looks good,” “Oh, this looks good,” and “Oh, this looks good” until the pot was full of spaghetti, and they ate it. When they woke up the following day, they noticed all the little caterpillars hanging from the trees and dropping to the ground. They couldn’t help but think they could have fallen into the spaghetti and must have eaten some.
After his time spent in Mississippi, the time had come to board a ship at Norfolk and to go to the Pacific. The landed at three different places. I think the first was New Guinea, the next was Moratai Island, and then the Philippines. I am not too sure if that order is correct, but I believe the Philippines was the last one. My dad was lucky to have his first Sgt. Hardin as his Sgt. I think he took a liking to my dad and watched over him. First, he was a supply clerk and then a mail clerk, and then he became the artificer, where he maintained all the guns. They are not supposed to hand them to him dirty, but one soldier did. It was all muddy. My dad said you didn’t clean it; you need to clean it first and the soldier said, “You clean it,” and my father said no, you’re supposed to clean it. Then he grabbed my dad by the collar and held him up in the air and said, “You stupid guinea, I ought to kill you,” and my dad shot the gun towards his feet and took off like a bat out of hell. When he was called before the commander, the commander said you wouldn’t have really shot him, would you? and my dad said, “I sure would have.”
He does not talk too much about the fighting end of it. While he did fight, he was not on the front line. He did go to the front line to pick up wounded soldiers and bring them back to the medic tent. One day, they picked a soldier up and put him on a stretcher, but they were not sure which way to go. The were in the jungle. They said, “Let’s go this way,” and proceeded to go. All of a sudden, they froze. Right on the other side of some sparse bushes were about 8 or so Japanese soldiers. Thank God they did not turn their heads and look their way, or else they would have been shot dead, and I would not be here writing this blog. Another time, they were being hit by grenades, and they all lay on the ground, and one landed on the guy’s head that was lying right next to him and blew him up. Nothing happened to my dad. He was not even hit by shrapnel. He is lucky to be alive. Many of them were fortunate to be alive, but a whole lot of them weren’t. Till the end of his life, he always said that the good Lord had always protected him. I am thankful he did. So I will end this here with this little story…
One night the Sergeant heard my dad talking, so he said, “Bellissimo, who are you talking to? and my dad said, “Just saying my prayers, sarge,” and Sarge said, “Carry on.” My dad has said his prayers every night since childhood and says he never missed them. My dad was a good man. I am happy he made it out unscathed except for a bad case of Malaria that seemed to affect him his whole life. He used to complain about weak spells and always thought it was from the Malaria. He was lucky. My dad is now living out his life in his eternal home of heaven. He lived to be 100 and 3/4 years old.
God bless my dad and all of the veterans. I pray they get the love and respect that they deserve. I am thankful that Donald J. Trump and J.D. Vance will be in the White House in January. They love and respect our military, and I believe they will do what is best for them. Hopefully, veterans will all get the proper care they need. Happy Veterans Day! and Dad..I love you and miss you so much. I am so proud of the way you lived your life. Thank you. Love always, your baby girl.