SGT. GRECO WOUNDED
From Local News Desk - Word has been received here that S/Sgt. Anthony Greco, son of Louis Greco of this city, is improving satisfactorily in an army hospital in England from wounds suffered in battle in Belgium December 18th. The extent of his wounds are not known, however he has been confined in bed.
Source: Oelwein Daily Register, February 3, 1945, pg. 1, col. 3
Word has been received here that S/Sgt. Anthony Greco is now recuperating in an army hospital in San Antonio, Tex. Greco recently arrived in the States after being confined to an army hospital in England since his injury while serving with the army in France.
Source: Oelwein Daily Register, April 7, 1945, pg. 3, col. 1
Write Thanks for USO Cigarettes
From Local News Desk - Several servicemen have written letters of appreciation to the USO through the REGISTER for the cigarettes which they have recently received. It will be remembered that last fall and winter coupons appeared in this publication on which the names and addresses of service men could be written and the local USO sent 100 cigarettes to each of these boys.
Among those who have replied with the thanks to the local United Service Organization are Pfc. LaVerne De Moss who is with the 17th Airborne Division in France, Sgt. Anthony Greco, who has been confined in a hospital in England with wounds suffered from action on the European mainland and Pfc. Raymond Moldenhauer who is serving on the French front with the infantry of the U.S. Army.
Source: Oelwein Daily Register, March 28, 1945, pg. 1, col. 6
Obituary: Anthony F. Greco
INDEPENDENCE – Funeral services for Anthony F. Greco, formerly of Oelwein, will be 11 a.m. Thursday, July 23, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Oelwein with the Rev. Frederick C. Fangmann officiating. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery, Oelwein, with military graveside rites performed by Ross Reid American Legion Post 9, Oelwein.
Friends may call from 3 until 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Jamison-Schmitz Funeral Home, Oelwein, where there will be parish scripture at 7 p.m. Mr. Greco, 76, died Monday afternoon, July 20, 1998 at Mercy Living Plus, Oelwein, after a short illness. He was born July 6, 1922, at Oelwein, the son of Louis Baratta and Julia (DeDeco) Greco. He graduated from Oelwein High School in 1941, and served with the U.S. Army during World War II.
On Aug. 13, 1947, he married Eileen Marie Higgins at Waterloo. Mr. Greco was a longtime Independence resident where he was a member of St. John's Catholic Church and the V.F.W. Bechter-Bois Post 2440. He worked many years as a maintenance man for Walnut Grove Products, Independence.
Survivors include one daughter, Trina (David) Bell of Palantine, Ill.; two grandsons; two brothers, Peter and Sam Greco, both of Oelwein; and a special friend Mary Adams of Oelwein. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Eileen, June 28, 1982; and one brother in infancy. Memorials may be directed toward an Oelwein Community High School athletic scholarship.
Source: Oelwein Daily Register, July 21, 1998 pg. 2, col. 4
ANTHONY F. GRECO – WWII Service
(info and photo provided by his daughter, Trina Greco Bell on 05/09/2023 via e-mail)
My father’s WWII Service in the U.S. Army began on March 20, 1943 and ended July 25, 1945. He was a Staff Sergeant and served with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 310th Infantry regiment, 78th Infantry Division. He was in “The Battle of The Bulge” which took place in December 1944. He wasn’t wounded, but his feet froze. He received “The Bronze Star”. His frozen feet required, after the battle, to go to a hospital in Cherbourg, France, then to a hospital in the U.K. He eventually returned to the U.S. to Ft. Sam Houston in Texas. He was honorably discharged July 25, 1945. He then returned to Oelwein.
He kept a diary from December 1st, 1944 - January 19th,1945. He talks about missing his father, brothers and other family members. He mentions several members in his group who were killed in battle. He himself was almost killed by German machine gun fire. He also mentions almost being hit by his own artillery. While there, he froze his feet. That injury bothered him his entire life.
