1925-2016
PFC Germano of New York served in the 320th Infantry Regiment, First Battalion, Company C (1943-1946). Aged 19 when he landed on Omaha Beach on July 6, 1944 his combat began in the deadly Normandy hedgerows. Fought in Normandy, Northern France and Rhineland Campaigns engaging in the bloody, hard-fought battles of St. Lo, Mortain, Nancy and Gremercey Forest. His battalion earned a Presidential Unit Citation for its rescue of the Lost Battalion, 30th Infantry, in a desperate fight against German tanks and SS infantry. For five months, he suffered the extreme hardship of combat against a fierce enemy until he could no longer walk due to trench foot that hospitalized him for four months. Among his many awards, are the Bronze Star, Combat Infantryman’s Badge and, from France, the Légion d’honneur and the Croix de Guerre.