P.C. to dedicate Cottage Street in honor of family of soldiers
November 7, 2024 at 12:24 a.m.
Anne Romanello, née Sandarciero, has always held her family in high regard.
“I’m proud to be a Sandarciero. I didn’t even want to change my name when I got married,” she said. “Because I know what my family did. I know what they sacrificed.”
She and her siblings were raised to be well aware of her father’s, and his six brothers’, military service—but they were warned not to bring it up around them.
“My father and my uncles never talked about it. Not ever. Everyone always told us not to ask about it,” Romanello recalled. “But we always knew they served.”
Shortly after the U.S. entered World War II, William, Patsy, Anthony, Angelo, Joseph and Rocco were drafted into the Army. Roughly 10 years later, their youngest brother, George, was drafted into the Korean War.
They left behind their sisters, Donata, Emily and Beatrice. Their parents, Bartolomeo and Maria, died shortly after the elder sons were shipped off.
Rocco, who was stationed in Italy, spent two years as a prisoner of war at Stalag II-B in modern-day Poland.
Angelo never returned to their home on Traverse Avenue—he was killed in action at the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium.
The rest returned to the Village and lived the rest of their days there, barring Rocco and George, who moved to Greenwich.
To commemorate their service, the Port Chester Board of Trustees approved the naming of a section of Cottage Street after the family on Monday, Nov. 4.
Joseph Sandarciero, a WWII veteran, Rocco Sandarciero, a WWII veteran and William Sandarciero, a WWII veteranCourtesy of Anne Romanello
“These people were real heroes,” Deputy Mayor Phil Dorazio said during a phone interview on Wednesday, Oct. 30. “Their family made real sacrifices and this a way we can honor them all for what they’ve done.”
Though Romanello always obeyed her family’s wishes to avoid the subject, it was something she was fascinated with.
“I always thought about how it must have been for my grandparents. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to hang a flag with six stars up on their house,” she said, referring to service flags families hung to denote homes of servicemen. “It must have been such a difficult period for them.”
Part of the pain of separation was eased via communication—the brothers communicated via post.
“I knew they existed, but I didn’t get to see them until after my Aunt Emily passed,” Romanello said.
When she came into possession of the letters in 2020, she was able to get a glimpse of what the family was going through.
“There’s over 300 of them in their original envelopes,” she said. “And I learned a lot about my uncles and father through them.”
What stood out the most to her was the love for one another that shone through their writings.
“They always asked about their father, but they mainly asked about each other,” she said, explaining that they weren’t able to communicate among themselves. “They would write and ask, ‘Have you heard from Joe?’ or ‘did you get anything from Tony?’ They just wanted to make sure they were all okay.”
Reading the correspondence from the brothers inspired Romanello to request their military service records—which led to further revelations.
“We learned so much through their official documents. All we knew before getting them was that they were in the war,” she said. “We never knew my Uncle William went to India or that my Uncle Anthony got a Bronze Star.”
The discoveries quickly became a talking point for Romanello.
“I tell their story to everyone I meet,” she laughed. “And I always finish by saying that my family needs a street named after them.”
Eventually, she told the story to her friend Bert Vilato, who agreed with her.
“He told me that because of the sacrifice and patriotism my family showed, we had earned it,” the Greenwich resident said. “He reached out to Phil and it all just started happening.”
Dorazio said that after Vilato approached him with the idea on Oct. 3, he pushed it towards the board to make it happen as quickly as possible. Part of his reason for doing so is to ensure their last living sibling, Beatrice “Bea” Celestino, can see it. The 97-year-old lives on Cottage Street.
“It was a no-brainer for the board,” he said. “Really the only question we were asking ourselves was how wasn’t this already done.”
The Board of Trustees unanimously approved the idea at their Nov. 4 meeting, though a date for the commemoration ceremony has yet to be set.
Romanello said the expedited process was a welcome surprise.
“I thought it was a long shot,” she said. “But they really showed a lot of interest and got the ball rolling.”
The 68-year-old said Cottage Street was selected because of what it represents to her family and for its visibility.
“They all came back to Port Chester, except Uncle Angelo,” she said. “They came home, found jobs, and had families here. Cottage Street became home.”
She described its location as an optimal one to reach as many eyes as possible.
“It’s next to busy streets, and I want people to see it,” she said. “People are going to ask, ‘who is that?’ and they’ll look it up and learn about my family’s courage.”
To that end, Romanello plans on donating the letters to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. But she’s most looking forward to the Cottage Street unveiling ceremony.
“I’m still dumbfounded by the whole thing because I’ve been talking about this for years,” she said. “It’s just too bad that my father wasn’t around to see it.”
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