PVT James J. Calabro
We honor and remember PVT James Joseph Calabro of Baker Battery, 321st GFAB, 101st Airborne Division.
Private (PVT) James Joseph Calabro of Baker Battery, 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion (GFAB), was born in Villa San Giovanni, Reggio di Calabria, Italy, to Giuseppe and Giovanna Calabro on April 1, 1922. James had one brother, Frank Calabro, and two sisters, Antoinette and Lucreza Grace Calabro. His brother Frank served as a corporal with the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII.
James registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, at White Plains, New York. He entered the service on November 20, 1942, and was first sent to the Headquarters Service Command Service Unit Reception Center at Camp Upton, New York. During WWII, Camp Upton in Long Island served as a vital U.S. Army induction and training center (1940–1946) under the Second Service Command.
James was assigned to the Headquarters & Headquarters Battery of the 13th Field Artillery Observation Battalion of the 15th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on December 1, 1942. On July 26, 1943, he was transferred from the HQ & HQ & Service Battery, 321st GFAB, to Baker Battery of the same battalion.
Gary Dettore’s fine book, Screaming Eagle Gliders, The 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division in World War II, describes what happened on the day when PVT Calabro lost his life in the Netherlands on September 19, 1944, the third day of Operation Market Garden.
SGT Harvey Baker from Blue Island, Illinois, was the copilot of his Waco CG-4A Hadrian that had left England that day, heading toward a landing zone near Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
“The landing was a rough one - the glider struck a stone fence that sent the howitzer careening forward, snapping the mooring ropes fastened to the wooden floor. PVT James Calabro (Baker Battery) from White Plains, New York, was killed instantly when the trail of the howitzer broke loose, crushing his head. The howitzer smashed its way through the nose of the glider and landed outside in the Holland field.”
Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
PVT James Calabro died at the age of 22 on September 19, 1944. He was the first man of White Plains, New York, to lose his life in the Netherlands. James was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. After his initial internment in the temporary military cemetery of Son, the Netherlands, on September 21, 1944, he was reburied at the White Plains Rural Cemetery in the winter of 1949. May he rest in peace.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, James.
Lest we forget. 🇺🇸
This story of PVT James J. Calabro was written with information provided by Gary Dettore. I would like to thank him for allowing me to use this information that made it possible to write this article.
Sources:
Family Search
NARA
Ancestry
The Reporter Dispatch, White Plains, New York; Friday, August 20, 1943
Screaming Eagle Gliders, The 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division in World War II by Gary Dettore
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