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Medal of Honor recipient Army PFC Lewis Albanese
Episode 2806 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Army PFC Lewis Albanese and his Congressional Medal of Honor award. The featured story appeared on the History Link website and was titled: Lewis (Luigi) Albanese receives the Medal of Honor posthumously on February 16, 1968. The story was submitted by Duane Colt Denfeld, Ph.D.
Dr. Denfeld reported in his story that Lewis (Luigi) Albanese was born in Cornedo Vicentino, Vicenza, Italy. When he was 2 years old, his mother, Giannina Albanese (b. 1927), brought him to the United States. They joined Ralph Albanese (1927-2002), Lewis’s father, who owned a Seattle pizza parlor.
Lewis grew up in Seattle and attended Franklin High School. At Franklin High School he especially excelled in wood shop and volunteered to create stage sets for plays. He graduated in June 1964 and went to work at Boeing Aircraft.
He was drafted in October 1965 and took basic training at Fort Carson, Colorado. On August 2, 1966, he flew to Vietnam. His unit soon entered the battle.
Albanese had been in Vietnam for only three months when his unit, Company B, Fifth Battalion, Seventh Cavalry, First Cavalry Division, engaged in a major battle. On December 1, 1966, his platoon advanced through heavy forest to establish a blocking position, and came under withering fire. The troops had advanced into an ambush. The platoon attacked the enemy position while Private First Class Albanese covered its left flank. As he laid down covering fire, he came under new attack from a well-concealed position. This enemy position and sniper fire were to the rear of his platoon, which was moving toward another enemy location. The platoon was in danger of being trapped. Private First Class Albanese identified the enemy position, attacked the ditch, and killed the enemy there. He also shot the sniper and in hand-to-hand combat destroyed another enemy position.
Listen to episode 2806 and discover more about Army PFC Lewis Albanese and his Congressional Medal of Honor award.
