Interesting Articles

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Body of St. Louis-born WWII soldier listed as missing will go to central Illinois for burial

• The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Ill.
  
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  • Oct 22, 2017
    

 

 

 

The remains of a St. Louis-born man who was listed as missing in action after a battle in the Netherlands during World War II will be heading to central Illinois for burial Wednesday.

The remains of Army Staff Sgt. Michael Aiello will arrive in St. Louis a little after 3 p.m., according to PJ Staab II of Staab Funeral Home in Springfield. There will then be a procession up Interstate 55 to the town of Sherman, Ill., where Aiello lived after moving from St. Louis as a child.

Aiello was born in 1909 in St. Louis. Three years later, his family moved to Sherman where he attended grade school. After finishing the eighth grade, Aiello became a coal miner at the age of 13.

 

Aiello’s family moved to Springfield in 1918. Aiello later owned and operated a restaurant in Springfield, but primarily worked as a coal miner until he entered the Army in 1942.

Within two years, Aiello advanced to the rank of staff sergeant and was assigned to a glider infantry regiment. He was involved in the D-Day Invasion and later in 1944 his unit was assigned to Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands.

 

Operation Market Garden called for glider and airborne troops to seize bridges in the Netherlands and hold them until British armor units arrived. The operation, portrayed in a book and the 1977 movie “A Bridge Too Far,” failed.

 

Military records indicate Aiello went missing Sept. 30, 1944, during fighting near the bridge at Nijmegen. While no remains were officially identified as his, the military issued a presumptive finding of death a year later.

Aiello was 35 when he went missing. About eight years ago, the military disinterred a set of remains that were later identified as Aiello. Relatives in the Springfield area provided DNA samples to confirm the identity.

Aiello will be buried at Camp Butler Cemetery at 10 a.m. Saturday. The ceremony at the cemetery is open to the public.

 

 

 

I was curious to know which unit this soldier belonged since the article did not state it.. After a little cyber snooping I found he was a member of the 401st GIR, 101st Airborne Division.

 

 

Welcome home Staff Sergeant Aiello