Giuseppe Biancaniello (1888 - 1918)

Born 22 May 1888 in Nusco, Avellino, Campania, Italy

Ancestors

Husband of Assunta Zampitella — married 13 Aug 1911 in Nusco, Avellino, Campania, Italy

Died 7 Nov 1918 at age 30 in Lion-devant-Dun, Meuse, Lorraine, France

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Biography

Giuseppe Biancaniello served in the United States Army in World War I
Service started: 20 May 1918
Unit(s): 5th Infantry Division, 61st Infantry Regiment
Service ended: 7 Nov 1918

Private Giuseppe Biancaniello was Killed in Action during World War I.

Giuseppe was born in 1888 in Nusco, Italy.^[1] He was the son of Generoso Biancaniello and Rosa Rullo. He was raised there and on 13 August 1911 married Assunta Zampitella in Nusco.^[2] They had one son, Generoso, who was born in 1913.^[3] WWI Draft records notate that he served for 2 years in the Italian Army as well.^[4]

He emigrated to the United States in 1913, arriving in New York on 19 July 1913 on the NDL Liner Barbarossa.^[5] His ship record says he was planning to go to Philadelphia to live with his wife's brother (who lived down the street from where his sister lived), but he ended up living with his brother Antonio in Brooklyn, working as a shoemaker.^[6] With the start of WWI in August 1914, he was unable to bring his wife and child over to America as most passenger liner service stopped during the war.

Once the United States entered the war in 1917, Giuseppe was drafted and entered the United States Army on 20 May 1918. He was first assigned to the Supply Company of the 49th Infantry Regiment, and deployed overseas with them on 26 July 1918. While in France, he was transferred to Company A of the 61st Infantry Regiment, 5th Division, American Expeditionary Force on 29 September 1918. ^[7]

The 5th Division was not originally part of the forces for the Meuse-Argonne offensive , but they were added to III Corps, 1st Army before the 2nd phase of the offensive. The Meuse-Argonne is still the largest and most deadly campaign of the US Army. During the last phases of the battle, Company A of the 61st Infantry came aross the town of Lion-devant-Dun in the Meuse region of France. The company liberated the town late on 5 November 1918. On 6 Nov they camped just south of town to avoid German artillery. On 7 November 1918, 4 days before the end of the war, Giuseppe was killed in fighting in or near Lion-devant-Dun.^{[8] [9]}

Due to his death near the end of the War, he not buried on site but rather in one of the "staging cemeteries" used by the Graves Registration Service. He was moved to a second staging cemetery on 19 April 1919, and then on 13 April 1922 to the national cemetery under construction there. His sister Maria however, requested that his body be returned to the United States. His remains were transported back in June of 1922 and he was reburied in Yeadon, PA on or about 13 July 1922. ^{[10] [11]}

Sources

1. ↑ Archivio di Stato di Avellino, Nusco, Births, 1888, #57
2. ↑ Archivio di Stato di Avellino, Nusco, Marriages, 1911, #20.
3. ↑ Archivio di Stato di Avellino, Nusco, Births, 1913, #14.
4. ↑ U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005), www.ancestry.com, Registration State: New York; Roll: 1754227; Draft Board: 30. Record for Guiseppi Bianchianello.
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
6. ↑ U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005), www.ancestry.com, Registration State: New York; Roll: 1754227; Draft Board: 30. Record for Guiseppi Bianchianello.
7. ↑ Service Record, Office of the Adjutant General.
8. ↑ Records of the Office of the Adjutant General.
9. ↑ The official history of the Fifth Division, U. S. A., during the period of its organization and of its operations in the European World War, 1917-1919. The Red Diamond (Meuse) Division. Washington, D.C. : The Society of the Fifth Division, 1919.
10. ↑ Card Register of Burials of Deceased American Soldiers, 1917–1922. National Archives of the United States. Record Group 92: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General. Series 6943087, File #72235.
11. ↑ Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Veterans Burial Cards, 1929-1990; Series Number: Series 1

• Archivio di Stato di Avellino

• Records of the Office of the Adjutant General. Form #724-6. Record for Biancaniello, Giuseppe. Serial Number 378,096. War Department, Washington DC. Dated 15 May 1920.