Onofrio Zicari

Personal Information

Birthplace: Geneva, NY

Service Information

Branch of Service: Army

Unit: 5th Amphibious Brigade

Theater of Operation: European

Battle: Normandy

Military Honors: Purple Heart

Honored By: The Eisenhower Foundation

Biography

Onofrio “NoNo” Zicari was born in 1923 in Geneva, New York. He enlisted in 1942, and his training for the service was in California. Zicari was stationed in Scotland, then Wales, later seeing fighting in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. However, one battle had a big impact on him — D-Day at Omaha Beach. He was in the fifth wave to go onshore. It was brutal, and he saw his first dead soldier. Zicari was in charge of bringing supplies to shore and setting up a supple line.

Back in the states, Zicari lived in Los Angeles and was a deliveryman during the 1992 Rodney King riots. He was given a patch or armband to wear and had no troubles from the rioters.

Courtesy of reviewjournal.com and Memoirs of World War II