Quote:
Originally Posted by R Leonard
From Golden Eagles – Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators
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Thank you, Rich. Outstanding military career review.
Here is a little more from the family personal side to be intermingled with this USMC career:
When Paul John Fontana was born on 27 November 1911, in Capannori, Lucca, Italy, his father, Raffaello, was 32 and his mother, Marianna, was 31, he had one older brother Joseph born 1905. Paul (Paolo), brother Joseph (Giuseppe) and mother Maria Anna Luporini Fontana immigrated to the United States departing Genoa Italy 29 April 1919 aboard the S. S. Giuseppe Verdi arriving New York, NY 14 May 1919. After Ellis Island processing these three traveled west to Sparks Nevada to join husband/father Raffaello who had immigrated earlier first employed in the mining industry and later as a section foreman with the railroad.
(insert HS school, college, military from USMC bio as needed)
Paul married Clara Ruth Lockwood at Baltimore Maryland in 1939. Clara was a Navy Nurse, a graduate of St. Anthony's nursing program, Amarillo, Texas, she was originally from Snyder, Texas. They had one son Paul J., Jr., and three daughters Susan F (Isaacs), Ann F (Landon) and Mary F (Palmer) together.
Clara died 15 May 1954 at age 39 in a Washington D.C. hospital following a year long illness (unspecified).
On 16 July 1955 Paul age 43 married Beth Gillette Gilchrist age 39 in Arlington, Virginia. They had no children together. Maj. General Fontana retired from the Corps on 30 June 1973. Then taking up residence in New Bern, North Carolina where he died 26 February 1997 at age 85 of Cardiac arrest.
Sources
ancestry.com
newspapers.com
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/pfontana.htm
http://valor.militarytimes.com/recip...cipientid=7629
Photo
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6608432
F-A-G
https://old.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/f...PIgrid=8771981 content added.
USMC bio origin
http://www.epnaao.com/Chronolog/2015%20CHRONOLOG.pdf search search Shift/Ctrl/F Fontana