A Wartime Journey From Lewis Run, PA to Germany and Back: World War II Combat Experiences of Staff Sergeant Nataline Piscitelli

More about the book

This narrative follows a young man from a small, rural town in Pennsylvania to the battlefields of Europe during World War II, depicting his experiences while serving his country. Leaving behind his close-knit Italian family, he volunteers for the U.S. Army and, after training, is deployed with thousands of new soldiers to the war zones in France and Germany. Under the command of General George S. Patton, he becomes a tank commander. Despite being injured during the Battle of the Bulge, he is reassigned and continues to fight until the war's end. His journey shapes him into the man he becomes. The story is enriched by original V-mail letters and postcards to family, in-person interviews, and historical quotes. It was initially researched and written by his nephew, Colonel Albert C. Costanzo, U.S. Army (Retired), who grew up with him and corresponded during the war. Albert began documenting his uncle’s story in 1998, and after his passing in 2011, his family passed the research and manuscript to Nat’s daughter, Peggy Anne Piscitelli Bidondo, who completed the work in 2019. The publication honors Nat’s 100th birthday on December 25, 2019.