Antonucci to lead Memorial Day Parade

When the marchers in the Memorial Day Parade step off onto the new parade route on Monday, they will follow a Grand Marshal with a compelling history of service.

George Antonucci, who turns 88 this July, said he served as Private First Class with the 101st Infantry of the 26th Infantry “Yankee” Division of the United States Army in France and Germany during World War II. The company was instrumental in helping to secure the stretch of Norman coastline between Carteret and Siouville, fighting alongside General George S. Patton’s Third Army during the Lorraine Campaign. After sustaining a wound shortly before the Battle of the Bulge, Antonucci spent almost a year in English and American hospitals until his discharge in July 1945.

“I could have had many ranks higher, but they were in a danger area,” Antonucci said. “You try to live as long as you can.”

He has been honored with numerous awards for his service, including the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Bronze Star and a presidential citation from President Theodore Roosevelt. He was named a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor by Nicolas Sarkozy, then president of the French Republic, at the French Consulate in New York in 2010.

Antonucci has lived in his house on Lee Avenue for almost 53 years and sent his five children to St. Agnes and South Side High Schools. His wife of 61 years, Lillian, died in 2003. A grandfather of nine, he lives with his partner, Joan, and remains an active member of the American Legion.

“I think I’m the oldest member of the American Legion here right now,” he laughed, while chatting about his time selling poppies and hot dogs for the Legion. “I’m fortunate that people don’t take me for my age — it helps me a little bit.”

When asked about his appointment as Grand Marshal in the upcoming parade, he beamed.

“I was supposed to serve last year, but I got sick, and instead we asked the police commissioner, Chuck Gennario,” he said. “I love it. I love it.”