Richard Rossi

Richard Rossi was born on June 1, 1924, in Lorain, Ohio. As a teenager, he played the saxophone in a traveling orchestra before the outbreak of World War II. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Army on May 10, 1943, alongside his childhood best friend, Robert Bailey.

After completing basic training, he attended the Radio School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and received training as a radio operator. Deployed from Boston to Liverpool, Richard was assigned to the 1301st Engineer General Service Regiment within General Patton’s Third Army. He landed on Utah Beach in early July 1944 and served as part of a two-man radio team transmitting Morse Code from the field while his partner powered the equipment. He remained in close contact with Robert until learning of his death in action on July 8, 1944.

While on assignment to Third Army headquarters in Nancy, France, Richard heard of an opening for a saxophone player in the Third Army Special Services Company. After auditioning, he was transferred to the unit, where he performed in Jamboree shows for troops across France, Belgium, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. He also took part in the Battle of the Bulge and shared the stage with USO entertainers such as Bob Hope and the Andrews Sisters.

Though his role shifted to morale and entertainment, he continued to face bombings and strafing during his time in Europe. Richard returned to New York Harbor on Christmas Day and was honorably discharged on December 29, 1945. He later married, raised two daughters, and settled in Florida. At age 99, he returned to Normandy for the first time since the war, where he visited the grave of his fallen friend, Robert Bailey, at the Normandy American Cemetery.