Ceremony in Little Italy marks start of work on war memorial
The San Diego Union-Tribune; San Diego, Calif.; July 17, 2001; Anthony Millican

Forgive Leon Cordileone if his emotions nearly overcame him at a ceremony yesterday in downtown's Little Italy.

A memorial called the "Piazza Basilone" is planned for a corner of Fir and India streets and was symbolically dedicated during the ceremony. It will be named after Marine Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, an Italian-American Medal of Honor recipient. The memorial will include a list of men from Little Italy who fought and died in World War II and Korea.

Men like Joe Cordileone. He was Leon's younger brother. He died at 21 when his boat sank in the Pacific. Neighborhood friends Anthony Ballatore and Jesus Chuey Contreras also were aboard the vessel, a tuna boat the Navy had put into military service, Leon said.

"I think of him quite often. But what can you do," said Leon, who is 82. "The sad part is that they were so young."

Marco Li Mandri, board chairman of the Little Italy Association, said the memorial will serve as an outdoor museum, one that will honor all veterans. A portion of Fir Street will be narrowed by one lane for the project, expected to be completed next spring. "It's really a way to make streets more people-friendly," Li Mandri said. "We also want to educate people about the contributions Italian-Americans have made. You see things on TV -- the images of Italian-Americans have not been that constructive. We're saying there are extremely constructive roles Italians played in the building of San Diego, in the tuna industry, as soldiers, veterans and leaders of industry." Li Mandri praised "Tommy" Gaetano Avila for coming up with the idea and doggedly pursuing it. Avila, who is active in the neighborhood association and a World War II veteran, received many hugs from old friends and well-wishers after yesterday's symbolic groundbreaking.

Maj. Gen. Jan C. Huly, commanding general of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, said "Machine Gun" John Basilone is well known in Marine Corps lore.

Basilone, from New Jersey, earned his Medal of Honor for helping turn the tide in the October 1942 battle for Guadalcanal. Later, he turned down a commission and the comforts of home so that he could return to action. He was 28 when he was killed on Iwo Jima island.

"Here was a guy who had already done more than his share -- wounded in battle, received the Medal of Honor and didn't have to return to a combat environment," Huly said. "But he wanted to be with the boys and that's what he did."

County Supervisors Ron Roberts and Greg Cox each allocated community reinvestment grants of $25,000 for the memorial. City Councilman Byron Wear contributed $50,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to the Little Italy Association, which allocated $30,000 for the piazza.

"In World War II, boys signed up from the harbors of Maine, the wheat fields of the Midwest and the deltas of the South as well as the fishing harbors of San Diego," Wear told the assembled crowd.

Wear added that his father was a Navy officer who survived the sinking of two ships; his uncle was a Navy flier who did not return from World War II.

"Like most families, we mourn those who were lost and always wonder 'What if . . . , " he said. "It's proper that we create a memorial for the Little Italy sons who never came back to our harbors."