William E. Alfonsi

William E. Alfonsi, 101, of Hermitage, PA passed away Saturday, November 23, 2024, at Avalon Springs. He was born January 27, 1923, in Niles, OH, the son of the late Pacifico T. and Carmella DeAngelo Alfonsi. William graduated from McKinley High School in 1942 and served in the U.S. Army from December of 1942- December 1945. Following his service, he opened his own company "William E. Alfonsi Interior Decorating Inc." He designed and decorated funeral homes, mausoleums, and mortuaries throughout the 11 states. He was a member of Gustavus Federated Church and member of the American Legion Harry Lees Post #506. William leaves his five children; ten grandchildren; fifteen great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his parents. William will be interred at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery, Rittman, OH on January 27, 2025, at 2:45 p.m. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Carl W. Hall Funeral Home. 

Sergeant Alfonsi was honored with numerous military awards and medals, including his recent Knighthood in France:

Technical Sergeant William E. Alfonsi

Service Number: 15377745

118th Signal Radio Intelligence Company

Service: Enlisted - 12th of December, 1942, at Fort Hayes Ohio

Honorably Discharged - Discharged on the 1st of December, 1945 at Fo1t Indiantown Gap Pennsylvania Service Branch: United States Army

Military Awards: American Campaign Medal, European African Middle East Campaign Medal with 5 Campaign Stars for Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe; the Army Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victo1y Medal, and qualified as a Sharpshooter with the Ml 917 Enfield Rifle.

Personal History: "Bill was born on the 27th of January 1923 in Niles, Ohio. He presently resides in Hermitage Pennsylvania. He is in his 101st year of life at the date of this July 2024 biography.

Military History in Brief: Technical Sergeant William E. Alfonsi earned his 5 Campaign Battle Stars serving as an intelligence gathering specialist conducting clandestine operations behind enemy lines. Selected for this role by members of the top command staff the United States Army, specifically General Patton, General Eisenhower, and General Maddox, among others, Alfonsi's file captured the attention of General Patton. Alfonsi’s creativity and development skills as an amateur inventor impressed General Patton so much that he invited Alfonsi to become one of his operatives. Alfonsi accepted the invitation and remained a part of Patton's Annies as they advanced across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and into Germany itself. Alfonsi entered the service the following week at Fort Hayes Ohio and took his basic training at Camp Crowder Missouri. Following basic he was sent to Fort Monmouth in New Jersey where he joined the 118th Signal Radio Intelligence Company in July of 1943. Once assigned he was sent to Vint Hill Farms Station in Virginia, the United States Army's cryptography school and training facility. Vint Hill Fam1s served as the place to teach intelligence gathering techniques and tactics. Here he was paired with a Native American Indian named Walter. The 2 trained together there and served together overseas for the duration of the war in the area of counterintelligence. On the 18th of January 1944, the pair boarded a boat called the "Indian Mail" and headed for England. Once in England the duo was sent to the combined American and British Intelligence Center on the estate of Lady Elizabeth Cavendish and then onto Dartford in Kent England. The 1181h "Sigint" unit became operational on the 26th of April 1944, intercepting German radio traffic. While there the base endured 35 separate air raids. After additional training, in the middle of the night, the pair boarded a small airplane, an L-2 Grasshopper painted black and jumped into the darkness of occupied France. The mission was to scour the French countryside for enemy installations and troop concentrations. With the help of their French underground contact, Fritz Croft, they soon discovered a large German attack of some 1500 soldiers equipped with tanks and mortars. With the help of the French resistance, with many of those being very young children, the entire force was neutralized. Later, as winter set in, the pair constructed an Igloo of sorts, living off the land and with the help of their resistance partners the pair discovered and reported approximately 35 secret installations near Reims. During these operations danger was ever present and as the war progressed, the Germans viewed everyone as suspects in aiding the allies. This was especially true to those that seemed out of place, like two grown men who didn't fit the local population's makeup. On more than one occasion, the pair had to rely on their training and shear will to survive: an amazing testimony to the determination of servicemen across the globe towards the cause of liberty and freedom.  At war's end Alfonsi was sent to Rosenheim Germany to aid in the repatriation of enemy soldiers and displaced people of all sorts. As his occupation duty continued, outside of Luxembourg, a Displaced Persons Camp was established called Camp Sims. There, he was part of a group which vetted for the most part scientists for relocation back to the United States. On the 17th of November 1945, Alfonsi departed the European Theater of Operations arriving back in the United States on 25 of November 1945. He was Honorably Discharged on December 1, 1945, at the Separation Center at Fo1t Indiantown Gap Pennsylvania.

Fast forward to December of 2023, nearly 80 years fron1 Alfonsi's first mission into France, WWII Veteran Advocate Eric P. Montgomery was contacted by Pennsylvania Representative Parke Wentling. Representative Wentling alerted Montgome1y to Alfonsi's participation in WWII and specifically those operations in France. Montgomery then visited Alfonsi and began the process of completing the application for the French Legion d'honneur; the highest honor that the French Government can bestow upon someone who has done great deeds for France. After gathering all the evidence required, Montgome1y sent the French Government Alfonsi 's file on the 5th of February 2024. On May 7th, 2024, in near record time, Technical Sergeant Alfonsi 's application for the Legion d' honneur was approved by French President Emmanuel Macron. Ironically that date, May 7u', happened to be the 79th anniversary of the first of two signings of surrender documents officially ending WWII in Europe. That being said, Technical Sergeant William E. Alfonsi's service, and notably this distinction, is dese1ving of the attention and admiration of liberty loving people everywhere. After the war, Alfonsi fathered three sons and two daughters, had 10 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, and a 2-year-old great-great-grandson. Following his service, Alfonsi opened his own company, "William A. Alfonsi Interior Decorating Incorporated" and operated that company until he retired in his 80's. His company designed and decorated funeral homes, mausoleums, and mortuaries throughout 11 states across the country. A member of the Gustavus Federated Church, Gustavus, Ohio, and member of the Kinsman American Legion Harry Lees Post #506, Kinsman Ohio, Alfonsi was a 1942 graduate of Niles-McKinley High School and attended University of Miami at Ohio before entering military service. The formal French Legion d'honneur award ceremony will take place on the 23rd of August, 2024, at the Mercer County Courthouse in Mercer, Pennsylvania. Representing the Republic of France and bestowing the Legion d'honneur Medal to Mr. Alfonsi will be Consul General Caroline Monvoisin of the French Consulate in Washington, D.C. The approximate start time is 3PM. Further details concerning the ceremony will be made available as soon as the event is finalized. The "Ordre national de la Legion d'honneur", conceived over two centuries ago by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the First Republic of France, was devised to reward eminent military and civil merits in the service of France. The Ordre further recognizes those merits by including the recipient into the classification of French Nobility. Despite the march of time, the award is still the highest distinction that can be bestowed upon those who have done great deeds for France. The award, divided into five degrees, with the majority of the recipients classified as "Chevalier" or Knight.

.