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Luca Vincenzo Cocchiola

Luca Vincenzo Cocchiola (1897-1993) was an Italian immigrant to the United States who served in the Royal Italian Army Arditi during World War I.

Biography[]

Luca Vincenzo Cocchiola was born in Avellino, Campania, Italy in 1897, the twin brother of Matteo Cocchiola. He and his twin brother were drafted into the Royal Italian Army during World War I, and they joined the elite Arditi unit and fought against the Austro-Hungarians in the Alps. In October 1918, during the Battle of Monte Grappa, Luca was sent - while wearing an armored suit and carrying a minigun - to capture St. Anastasia's Church, destroy Austro-Hungarian artillery pieces, use the enemy's own anti-aircraft gun to shoot down their bomber squadron, and aid in the Italian offensive against the Austro-Hungarian forces defending the mountain. However, Matteo was killed in action during the assault, and Luca found his missing brother's body after an intense search. After the war's end, Luca would emigrate to the United States and settle in Newark, New Jersey, where he started a family and had a daughter, Rebecca, whom he later told of his role in the war when she caught him looking at his old war photos on his birthday.

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