Veteran Reflects on Service, Loss

For veteran Sal Citrano, memories of the war and the men lost there aren't limited to just one day of the year.

"Memorial Day is just another day for me," he said, as he shared pages from his shipmate's diary, a document Citrano values deeply. It's a vivid account of their years overseas, which has been typed for preservation.

Citrano, 85, had just graduated from in 1943 when he enlisted. He was a Navy Radioman first class and took part in the invasions of Okinawa in the Pacific and Normandy in Europe.

His ship journeyed to Ireland then through the Irish Sea before arriving at Normandy. After Normandy, the ship returned to the Virginia, before heading to Guantanamo Bay, San Diego, Hawaii, the Philippines and eventually Japan.

Citrano remembers losing a significant number of army men in the Pacific invasions.

"They were shot on the beach in Okinawa and died right on our ship," he said.

But it was in Nagasaki that Citrano remembers the most destruction and emptiness.

"There was nothing left," he said. "I remember we went out on an army vehicle and seeing no life, just skeletons and corpses in the street."

As a radioman, Citrano was responsible for decoding radio messages about enemy positions and other information and reporting them to the commander.

After the war, Citrano went on to become a technical writer for and Grumman, writing the manuals for aircraft. He is one of six siblings, and his brothers later served in other wars. He raised two daughters in Farmingdale with his wife Loretta, who has lived in Farmingdale her entire life.

Citrano will be marching in the Memorial Day parade in Farmingdale today, to honor the fallen soldiers and war that remains close to his heart and mind on a daily basis.