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Prianti
Brothers Remembered for Service & Sacrifice |
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 May
25, 2001(click on photo for larger view)
Too many families know the pain of losing someone in service to their country but the Prianti family of East Northport endured more heartbreak than most. This Memorial Day the East Northport Chamber of Commerce was joined by
Huntington Councilman Mark Cuthbertson as they planted a memorial tree in
remeberance of the six brothers who served their country. Two of the
brothers were killed in action and a third died from complications of
malaria contracted while serving in the Pacific theatre. A fourth
was seriously injured by shrapnel and another also contracted malaria in
the Pacific. The following is adapted from the story of the Priant
Brothers as recounted in Huntington's Veteran's Oral History Project
(volume 1). Of their nine children, the oldest five boys were drafted during World War II. Three served in Europe and two in the Pacific; all as combat soldiers. Throughout the year a string of telegrams brought the family anguishing news. John, the third-oldest, was hit in the stomach by shrapnel. The July, 1944 telegram from the War Department advised the family he was recovering. The following month, however, they received news that 21 year old Peter, their fourth oldest, was reported missing in France. By August 22, they received news that he had been killed in action. Only four months after that, Frank, only 19 and the youngest of the sons who had gone to war, was reported missing in action in France. In late December they were advised he had been killed. The two sons serving in the Pacific, Salvatore, the oldest, and Michael, were denied emergency furloughs upon learning of their brothers' deaths. In 1945, the three surviving Veterans returned to their East Northport home. Salvatore and Michael contracted malaria while in the Pacific and Salvatore succumbed to the illness in 1947. When the Korean War broke out, the youngest son, Dominic was drafted. A "heartfelt letter" to President Harry S. Truman to excuse her son from frontline duty in light of his brothers' death in service did not keep him from the battle. Dominic served as a medic in Korea and contracted hepatitis while there. Jennie, who with her sisters Antoinette and Mary shared their parents' anguish, fear and despair attended the memorial dedication. The tribute is as much for her parents as for her brothers. "They were never frontline soldiers," Jennie said in the family oral history. "[But] like wartme soldiers, Caroline and Peter Prianti [Sr.] deserve recognition for their heroic contributions to their country." Jennie Prianti Bonjourno still resides in East Northport. A distant cousin, Giro Prianti, owner of Prianti farms donated the tree which was planted as part of the memorial in Elwood Park. "This was an opportunity for the people of the Town of Huntington to express our gratitude to the Prianti family for the sacrifices they have made in the protection of our nation's liberty," Cuthbertson said.
This year the Marine Corps will be highlighted in a special exhibit at the Kings Park Heritage Museum. The exhibit is made possible by Tom Burns, Marine Adj. League official who provided uniforms, insignia and military equipment spanning 200 years of Marine Corps history. (Pictured: Tom Burns and Air Force Academy graduate (KP class of '88) Greg Bauer) Click
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