As an infantryman in combat in Okinawa during World War II, Sidney A. Centilli Jr. dreamed of the future.
Among his dreams: raising a family in Clarkston, a small town along M-15 his bus would drive through in 1941 on the way from his home in Detroit to school in Flint.
‘When I saw Clarkston for the first time, I fell in love with it,? he said. ‘I thought, that’s what a small town should be like ? someday, I’m going to raise my family there. I’m still here.?
Among his dreams now: collecting and preserving memories and mementos of the war for his children, something he wanted to do since 1945.
His book, ‘Coming of Age During WWII,? is set for publication, and he recently donated about 50 pounds of letters and personal items from the war to the Library of Congress.
Letters to and from his mother, Rose (Jaeger) Centilli, family and friends fill seven three-inch binders.
‘The letters from my mother were beautiful, full of pathos ? her son was in harm’s way,? Sidney Centilli said. ‘She had a beautiful way of expressing herself.?
He donated the collection in a ceremony in Washington D.C. a month ago. Sen. Carl Levin planned to attend, but was unable ? he was in Iraq.
To make up for it, he stopped by the American Legion Post 63 on M-15 to meet with Centilli and his family.
‘Thank you ? a lot of important information, memories, and experiences will be lost unless people like you are willing to share it,? Levin said.
‘I think it’s wonderful,? said Tim Rollin, post adjutant for American Legion Post 63. ‘Donations perpetuate memories of World War II. They allow younger generations to sit down and look at it too.?
Included in the book are articles he wrote about the campaign in Okinawa as an army correspondent for the newspaper The Caduceus, at a military hospital in Saipan.
‘I interviewed the guys as they were unloaded,? he said.
About 20 years later, he came across the steno pads of paper he used for his interviews, all written in shorthand.
‘I couldn’t read my own writing,? he said. ‘I finally pieced them together and put them in book form.?
Before he was deployed to the Pacific, he was a student, attending classes at the University of Mississippi, Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, and GMI in Flint, now Kettering University.
‘But the army was in dire need of infantry,? he said.
After training at Camp McCain in Mississippi, he shipped out with the 96th Infantry Division. He fought as a machine gunner in battles at Leyte, Samar, Philippines, and Okinawa in the Pacific.
He went by the nickname ‘Cass.? He didn’t want to go by his initials ? spelling ‘SAC,? he didn’t want to be named after the comic character ‘Sad Sack.?
‘I talked them into turning it around,? Centilli said.
He was hit by shrapnel from a Japanese 47 millimeter gun while fighting in Okinawa.
‘It was like the gun out in front (of the American Legion Post 63 on M-15),? he said. ‘We didn’t know they had antipersonnel rounds ? we found out the hard way.?
The Americans were crossing a river near the ocean when Japanese soldiers started firing down at them, he said.
‘We lost our platoon leader,? he said. ‘We were trying to recover his body and in the ensuing action, I got hit.?
He was evacuated to Saipan, where he wrote for the newspaper until an editorial he wrote got him kicked off the paper by the base commander.
‘I wrote about fatigue duties being assigned to combat troops ? he said it nearly fermented a riot,? he said.
After recovery, he rejoined his unit in Okinawa. By that time, troops were preparing for invasion of Japan. Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki made that unnecessary.
‘One day, they said the war was over ? I was in shock,? he said.
For his service, he earned the Purple Heart, Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon, Bronze Arrowhead Medal, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, two Bronze Stars, American Theater Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, two Presidential Unit Citations, and Rifle and Carbine Expert badges.
After the war, he worked with General Motors as a senior manufacturing project engineer, retiring in 1986, then as a consultant, retiring again in 1991.
He and his wife Lois raised five children in Clarkston, all daughters, Barbara, twins Kathy and Kristine, Diane, and Sharon. They have 17 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
‘He been a part of Clarkston since 1956,? said his daughter Kristine Jacques. ‘It was his dream.?
‘I always thought of dad as a gentleman, soldier, and scholar ? he’s the most honorable man I ever met,? said his daughter Barbara Laboissonniere.
‘I grew up listening to stories of World War II. Only in the last 10 years or so did dad open up about some of the trauma he went through. It’s profound ? it enlightened us as to what he went through. I can’t believe how intense it was. I’m so proud of him.?