My father Anthony (Tony) was born in South Philly. He had a 2 brothers, Charlie his older brother and Robert his younger brother along with 2 sisters. Anna & Mildred He graduated South Philly High then lied to get into the Air Force by saying he could see (he was practically blind in one eye & had flat feet, back then it was a no no). He loved being in the Air force & would talk about his brothers till his last days .He was shot down on D Day into the English Channel. They thought he was dead since he was in the back of the plane but he wound up saving them when he came out with a dingy just in time before the plane sunk. Picked up by the USS O the guys on the ship were so nice to him they played a little joke on him and put him next to the cannon when it went off, he didn't know how loud it could be so he stood there & when it went off it was so loud that he lost his hearing in one ear,, Did i mention he received the Purple Heart for doing such a deed by helping save 8 lives.. He was a real character. Loved good food or any food really, he couldn't wait to go to Japan to taste their food. In 1925 he met the love of his life in Phila at a dance in Wagners Ball room in Phila. Her name was Mary Lombardo. she came along with 9 brothers a& sisters They married Sept 26, 1948 and had 2 girls, Sandy in 1951 and Sharon in 1054. Sharon married Peter Silver & had 2 boys, Christopher in 83 & Justin in 86. He would take them everywhere, fishing , dumpster diving, golfing, flea markets, games, they loved him & he loved them. Unfortunately dad got sick the last few years of his life but you would never know it, he never showed pain or discomfort, always a smile. Again he fought as hard as he could.for his life. He always told us not to pull the plug. So we didn't & didn't want to he was our hero, friend, father... he was dad. I was so lucky to have a him as a father. I couldn't have gotten a better one for me. Maybe because i was just like him. We would hang out when my sister & mother would go fashion shopping & dad would take me golf club shopping. One time he took me to a store in Phila called Korvettes in Philly. We were in the mens dept where they had cologne & shaving items. He ould love to test out the colognes.. One time he tried one & i started laughing & the sales man came over to see what we were doing since dad was standing in the isle with a face full of shaving cream which he thought was a cologne.
So funny, and the best part is he told the sales man I played a trick on him and put it on his face. lol At the age of 65 i can still remember that day like it was yesterday. it was soooo funny seeing him trying to get shaving cream off of a dry face in the middle of a store isle with no water & scrambling for a tissue .Now who's the child?? I loved the hell out of my dad. My sons cry when we talk about him and always laughing when we think of the things he would say and do. He was an amazing man & a father that every child would dream of. I am so glad my sons got to meet him & have time with him. He taught them so much. mostly things like how to be a man and more of a gentleman