releases: http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398636
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398636 | <span class="kicker">Asbury Park Press article</span>'WWII veteran finally receives his medals' | 2015-12-23 | 2015 | 2015-12 | Republican | House | NJ | Christopher Smith | S000522 | chrissmith.house.gov | legacy | BY DAN RADEL, ASBURY PARK PRESS STAFF WRITER At 90 years old, Alfred Caponigro has received many gifts -- but this year, his familygavehim one of the greatest presentsthey could his long-lostservice medals. The World War IIveteran is battling cancerbut no one couldtell that from the joy on his face when he wassurrounded in hishome by his family members Tuesday night -- and his long-delayed gift. "I think there's27 grandchildren and 25 great-great children, or it's the other way," jokedhis daughter Elena Mazza, about their very large Italian-American family. The medals arrived byspecial delivery fromRep.Chris Smith (R-N.J.) who came bearingtheeight medals and ribbons thatCaponigro earned but never collected for hisservice to the country. "It is witha sincere gesture of gratitude that I give you these. You earned them. You are the greatest generation," Smith said, sitting next toCaponigro in hisliving room, the two gentlemen clasped in a handshake. For a short moment the veteran was teary eyed. Caponigro was born in Montclair on June 21,1925,a first-generation Italian-American. His parents came to the United States fromLacedonia, Italy when they were teenagers. When he was 17 he joined the U.S. Navy with the help of his parent's signature because he was too young to enlist without their consent. "I thought it was the right thing to do," he said. He was a part of the D-Day invasion,what Smith called the "decisive battle ofWorld War II." He lost his hearing during the battle and suffered another injury to his hand went he got hit byshrapnel. For the rest of his life he wore hearing aids. "The sky was blacked out from the planes," Caponigro recalled of the D-Day. It did not stop him from raising seven children or making a career at DuMont Laboratories, before taking a job at Fort Monmouth for the U.S. Department of Defense. "My grandmother who passed away a couple of years ago started the exercise of trying to retrieve medals and accommodations he might have earned as a result of his service," said his grandson Robert Williams. "My grandfather didn't ask for any of this. If you ask him what his legacy is, itwould be his children,his grand-children and his great grandchildren." One of the medals Caponigro received was the French Legion of Honor,the highest honor France bestows on non-French citizens Smith said. Caponigro was also awarded the World War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Honorable Service Ribbon, Navy Honorable Discharge Label, and the N.J. Distinguished Service Medal. Even Caponigro's great grandchildren understood the importance of the medals he finally received. "Poppy is a good man. He helps others. During the war there was a big bomb and he lost his hearing.One time he was at our school because it was Veteran's Day," offered his 7-year old great granddaughter Marissa Williams. This article originally ran on Dec. 23, 2015 on Page one of the Asbury Park Press., and can be could online at: http://www.app.com/story/news/local/eatontown-asbury-park/2015/12/22/wwii-vet-receives-medals-death-bed-chris-smith/77749008/ | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |