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Martelli, Victor A. (607th)

Victor-Martelli-1Victor A. Martelli

Biography: Victor Anthony Martelli was born November 5, 1920, in Aultman, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Joseph Martello and Armenia Parcelli. When Joseph was processing through immigration, the clerk mistakenly recorded his name as Martelli, rather than Martello, and the family has retained that spelling since. Victor attended McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio. He was involved in working with heat-treating and annealing at Canton Drop Forging and Mfg. Company prior to entering the military.

Service Time: Victor entered the Army on January 4, 1943, at Akron, Ohio. He was assigned to the 607th Tank Destroyer Battalion. Records indicate that while the unit was at Camp Hood, Texas, a number of men were received on Jan. 11 from Fort Hayes, Ohio, so he may have been part of that group. He was ultimately assigned to Company C. On September 13, 1944, Victor was part of a 3″ gun crew that fired 10 rounds at the church steeple in Perl, Germany. These rounds were the first fire from the 90th Infantry Division to fall into Germany, the first from XX Corps into Germany and believed to be the first fire to fall into Germany from the Third US Army.

Victor-Martelli-2

Victor earned a Bronze Star for heroic achievement and a Purple Heart for wounds received on May 6, 1945. He was evacuated for his wounds and spent approximately one year in Veterans Administration hospitals. He left the service at the rank of Corporal.

Purple Heart Order

Post War Time: Following his release from the hospital, Victor worked for a time at the Ford Motor Company and later went to work for the Post Office, from which he eventually retired. In the late 1950’s or early 60’s, he moved to California. Victor liked to visit flea markets and enjoyed traveling.

Victor passed away on October 8, 2013, in Upland, CA, and was buried at the Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, CA.  We would like to thank his son, Bill, for providing the photos and information used in this tribute along with additional photos of the 607th.