50 years ago: Italian Army hunts down O’Fallon man to give him the medals he earned in WWI
125 years ago, Dec. 22, 1899
“Tuesday, M. Schwarz received the hearse he has been expecting so long. It is very neat and elegant and presents an imposing appearance. Our undertaker is now prepared to serve the public in a most satisfactory manner.
“We hope that in the future this business will remain with our home undertaker.”
(Schwarz Furniture & Undertaking was located at 225 W. First Street in O’Fallon in a building now occupied by Fezziwig’s Marketplace.)
100 years ago, Dec. 18, 1924
“The possibilities of aerial navigation were successfully demonstrated at Scott Field last Saturday in a feat which is unique in the history of flying.
“Lieut. Cliff Finter, of Dayton, Ohio, engineered a stunt in which he succeeded in attaching and detaching a Sperry messenger plane to the dirigible TC-3 while in midair at an altitude of 1,500 feet. The airship carried Lieut. Frank M. McKee, commanding and altitude pilot; Maj. Harold Stauss of McCook Field, observer and four other men.
“As the big dirigible circled about the field Lieut. Finter managed to hook his plane to a new device under the gondola of the airship. After being sustained in this manner for some time as the dirigible continued on its way Lieut. Finter released the hook at the top of his plane and again took the air under his own power.
“Motion pictures of the maneuver were taken by army photographers.”
(Other sources give the altitude as 3,000 feet.)
75 years ago, Dec. 22, 1949
“Saturday afternoon will be a happy day for the children of O’Fallon and the community when they are invited to be guests at the State Theatre at a Christmas party sponsored annually by the Auxiliary of the Progressive Mine Workers.
“Manager Hugh McLean will provide a good picture program and when this entertainment is over Santa Claus will arrive in person to officiate in the distribution of bags of Christmas goodies.
“This free show and party is for all the children up to 12 years of age. Mothers are being asked to accompany their kiddies, especially the smaller ones and assist Santa and the Auxiliary to make this a real trend for the kiddies.”
(State Theatre was located at 122 E. State Street in a building now occupied by the O’Fallon Masonic Lodge.)
50 years ago, Dec. 19, 1974
“’If I’d have done something wrong, they probably would have found me a lot sooner than they did,’ remarked Caro Vercellotti, 77, of O’Fallon, concerning a recent set of medals he received.
“However, the Italian government has been looking for Vercellotti since the end of World War One to give him the medals for his actions in the war. The Cross of The Cavaliere is the highest of two medals Vercellotti received a few weeks ago. Vercellotti said the Italian medal is similar to the American Distinguished Service Cross.
“The Italian embassy in Chicago finally got a fix on the O’Fallonite and sent him the medals a few weeks ago after years of searching for him.
“Vercellotti, who is now 77, was drafted into the Italian Army in the spring of 1916 at the age of 20 as a grenade thrower. However, Vercellotti is hesitant to talk about what he did to win the medal and, in fact, is unsure what he did exactly to get the honor.
“Vercellotti remembers one incident which may be the reason for his winning the medal.
“’We were trenched out and it was getting dark one night. I was eating my supper from a tin can when artillery started to hit the area where we were. Nearby me there was a foxhole with eight of my buddies in it and a shell hit near it. One of my buddies yelled for help. He said his leg had been hurt. I went over to him to see how he was. I saw a first aid station about six or seven city blocks away so I picked him up and carried him to the station,’ Vercellotti said.
“Soon after the incident, Vercellotti and three of his comrades were captured by the Austrians and sent to a prison camp in Budapest. At the camp, Vercellotti was assigned to working in a packaging factory in the city itself. Later, Vercellotti was moved to another area to work in the brickyards. The Italian-born man spent two years in the prison.
“Vercellotti, who was born in Villareggia, Italy, has lived in O’Fallon since 1920. The Gold Medal, which commemorated the first 50 years of victory for the Italians from 1918 to 1968, was also received by Vercellotti with the Cavaliere medal.
“’I really never expected anything like this and I still don’t know exactly what the medals are for,’ said Vercellotti.”