World War II veteran Vincent Melillo dies at age 97
Retired Master Sgt. Vincent Melillo, a member of the Georgia Military Hall of Fame and last original member of Merrill’s Marauders from Georgia, died of a heart attack on Christmas Eve at Midtown Medical Center in Columbus. He was 97.
“The Fort Benning and Ranger community has lost one of its heroes,” Maj. Gen. Scott Miller, commander of the Maneuver Center of Excellence, said on the post’s Facebook page. “Our thoughts are with his family on this solemn day. Vince and the rest of our WW II veterans paved the way for us that wear the uniform today. We are forever grateful for his service to our community and our great nation.”
A memorial service for the decorated World War II veteran is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Fort Benning’s Infantry Center Chapel near Gowdy Stadium, said his daughter, Jonnie Melillo Clasen. Visitation is 6-8:30 p.m. Friday with a rosary at Striffler-Hamby Mortuary on Macon Road, Columbus.
A military burial is 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Midway United Methodist Church in Milan, Ga., where his late wife, Frankie Doris, is buried 142 miles southeast of Columbus.
As a member of Merrill’s Marauders, Melillo served with the first American troops to fight the Japanese on land in Asia during World War II. Traveling almost 1,000 miles, the soldiers marched farther on foot than any other fighting unit. One of the highlights of the volunteer unit was capturing the airstrip at Myitkyina, Burma, opening up an allied supply line into Asia.
Clasen, a big supporter of her father and military events across the region, was by his side when he died. “I said daddy, we had one hell of a ride,” said Clasen who drove her father to awards and living history programs.
She described Melillo as her best friend. “I’m going to miss him sitting in the car beside me and singing with him,” she said. “I’m going to miss his presence because he was the sparkle in my life.”
During her travels, whether it was to a drug store for his medicine or stopping at the doughnut shop, Clasen said Melillo was a father to others too. “Everywhere I go, people just loved daddy,” she said. “He was just a soft-spoken person but he loved people. In return he made this incredible connection with people wherever he went. Whether it was at the drug store, Dunkin’ Donuts or sitting on a park bench, they remembered him. It made me realize that he is just not my daddy, he is everybody’s daddy.”
Born 1918 in Boonton, N.J., Melillo was the fifth child of Italian immigrants. He was orphaned at three months old when a flu epidemic killed his mother. A nun at the Villa O’Connor Orphanage filled the role of mother until he was reclaimed around age 11 by the family he didn’t know existed. “Being raised in an orphanage made the Army seem like home to me,” Melillo said during a 2013 interview.
Melillo quit school after the seventh grade. He helped his father as a mason’s helper, worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps and Boonton Moulding Co. before joining the Army in 1940. He was first assigned to the 33rd Infantry Regiment at Fort Clayton, Panama, although he wanted to go to the Philippines. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, he was on a ship headed to Trinidad where he served for two years.
At the end of his enlistment, he was on a ship returning to the United States when the boat stopped in Puerto Rico. That’s when he and about 3,000 men volunteered for a dangerous and hazardous mission when asked by President Frankin D. Roosevelt.
Melillo was assigned to the 5307th Composite Unit Provisional, a group led by Gen. Frank D. Merrill on Jan. 1, 1944. Soldiers in the unit were dubbed by the press as Merrill’s Marauders.
Serving as a scout with the Blue Combat Team in Headquarters and Headquarters Company, he traveled almost 1,000 miles during their eight months of existence. Soldiers were loaded with whatever they could carry on their backs along with pack mules.
They hiked through Ledo Road, the Himalayan mountains and jungles of Burma. Melillo was part of the five-man patrol when the first Marauder was killed from a machine gun blast.
After the Burma campaign, he was assigned to Camp Wheeler, a camp near Macon, Ga., where he met his wife.
During his 21 years of service, Melillo’s awards include two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation and the Ranger Tab. In 2013, he was inducted into the Army Ranger Hall of Fame and Georgia Military Veterans Hall of Fame.
Camp Frank D. Merrill in Dahlonega, Ga., where Ranger students are trained, is named after the commander of the Marauders. The 75th Ranger Regiment honors their legacy with the Marauders’ patch as their crest.
Other than his daughter, survivors include a sister, Theresa D’Aconti of Middlesex, N.J., a grandson, D. Michael Clasen of Reno, Nev., and a host of nephews and nieces.
This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 4:05 PM with the headline "World War II veteran Vincent Melillo dies at age 97."