Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Technician 5th Grade (T-5)

Unit:

2677th OSS Company, Office of Strategic Services (OSS), U.S. Government

Awarded on:

1946

Awarded for:

Operation Ginny II

"For gallantry in action while serving with the 2677th Company, Office of Strategic Services, in action against the enemy on the nights of 22 and 23 March 1944 in the European Theater of Operations. Technician Fifth Grade Calcara was a member of an operational group consisting of two officers and 13 enlisted men, whose mission it was to land behind the enemy's lines and demolish or block an important railway tunnel. Despite the announcement by the Germans that all Allied saboteurs captured behind the lines would be executed, Technician Fifth Grade Calcara volunteered for this hazardous duty. To avoid detection, landing boats had returned to Corsica after putting the raiders ashore. Plans were to pick up the saboteurs the subsequent night, upon completion of the mission. Two attempts were made by pursuit torpedo boats to retrieve the party, both of them unsuccessful. Later, information was received that the party had been captured and no precise accounts were receive until 1946 when it was learned that the group had been brutally executed four days after it had landed. The soldier's graves were located and all 15 men were found buried together with their hands bound behind them. His gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army."

Headquarters, U.S. Army Forces, Mediterranean Theater of Operations, General Orders No. 17 (posthumously awarded)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Technician 5th Grade (T-5)

Unit:

2677th OSS Company, Office of Strategic Services (OSS), U.S. Government

"Technician Fifth Grade Santoro Calcara (ASN: 36131251), United States Army, was captured by German forces during a mission behind enemy lines in Italy on 23 March 1944, and was held as a Prisoner of War until his execution in captivity on or about 27 March 1944."

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Sergeant

Unit:

2677th OSS Company, Office of Strategic Services (OSS), U.S. Government