Army Staff Sergeant Michael Aiello comes home
The Missouri State Journal reports that Staff Sergeant Michael Aiello, who was killed during Operation Market Garden in September 1944 is finally on his way home to Springfield, Illinois. He was assigned to the 401st Glider Infantry Regiment. The 401st was attached to the 82d Airborne Division for the operation and after their landing in Holland spent the next 72 days in contact with the enemy.
On Sept. 25, 1944, Sgt. Aiello’s unit was ordered to seize the Kiekberg Woods, a forested area near Groesbeek in the Netherlands, which was near the bridge at Nijmegen. A report the Aiello family received from the military described the fighting in the woods as “ferocious.”
Little information is known about the events leading to Sgt. Aiello’s death. Military records indicate he went missing on Sept. 30, 1944. While no remains had been positively identified, military officials issued a presumptive finding of death on Oct. 1, 1945.
Three months later, in January 1946, American authorities retrieved unidentified remains from the Kiekberg Woods and buried them at a military cemetery in Belgium
About eight years ago, Aiello family members learned that a set of remains, possibly belonging to Sgt. Aiello, had been disinterred for identification. Military officials narrowed the search using the physical characteristics of the remains, and DNA samples from two Aiellos confirmed the identity.
Staff Sergeant Aiello will be interred at Camp Butler National Ceremony on October 28th at 10 AM.
From Stars & Stripes;
[PJ Staab II of Staab Funeral Home] said the funeral home is working with police and fire departments in Sherman and Springfield, the Illinois State Police and the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office to coordinate the procession. The Patriot Guard also will be in the procession.
Jim Sodaro, a Springfield resident and a member of Illinois Patriot Guard, is an Army veteran himself. He said they conduct processions out of respect for their fallen brothers and sisters.
“They deserve respect whether they were drafted or enlisted on their own free will. We are in a unique fraternity. It’s to show respect to them and their families for their unwavering service to this nation of ours.”
Category: We Remember
Welcome Home Staff Sargent Michael Aiello.
Based on the article he was with the 82nd. The 1-401st was with the 101st and became the 3-327th. The 2-401st was with the 82nd and became the 3/325th. Welcome home, Staff Sergeant and thank you for your service and your sacrifice.
Welcome home, Brother.
Welcome home, Sergeant.
Welcome home, sir. Thank you for your sacrifice.
God bless the DPAA!
Units like his were specifically targeted by the Germans.
They provided the bulk of the heaviest weaponry the airborne formations could call upon, in the form of 75mm ‘pack’ howitzers and 57mm AT guns.
And with a last name like ‘Aiello’, I guarantee his surviving, extended Family gave a damn and appreciated the DoDs efforts to ID him and bring him home.
Welcome home, Soldier. Thanks for standing tall on the line.
I welcome home a hero. Gave it all wearing a uniform of the U.S. Army.
General George Patton said something close to this, do not cry that these men died for their country. Rather thank God that such men lived.
RIP my combat Infantry brother. Amen.
Ditto, brother; may he rest in eternal peace in grateful nation.
Welcome home. A minor correction, this is Springfield Illinois not Missouri or I would be there for the ceremony.
SSG Aiello was accounted for by DPAA in early May. Not sure why it took nearly 6 months for his interment.
In any case: welcome home, elder brother-in-arms. Rest easy.
The gliders used for Operation Market Garden transported both troops and equipment, sometimes at the same time. They were targets for German guns, but somehow, despite crash landings and bad weather and no real place to land at times, they made it through.
Welcome back home, SSG Aiello. Long time coming.
Thanks to all who have taken time to post comments on my great-great uncle Mike. It’s good people like you who give us strength and thanks that we are Americans. Thank you again and you have any more info on SSG Aiello (uncle Mike), please post and our family will compare with what we already have.