EDIT 10/22/2021: I am pretty sure this is the wrong Domenico Gatto. A Domenico Gatto was living at 315 Melrose St. in 1908, several years before my great-grandfather was first known to have arrived in the US in 1911.
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| NYS Service Record for Domenico Gatto, WWI |
He was inducted on 30 April 1918. I have to plead ignorance again; I do not know what "inducted" means in this context. I assume that it simply refers to the date he joined the Army. At the time, he was 29 years and 2 months old, but the record doesn't give his birth date. The given age is a bit inconsistent with the Italian Civil Registration record of his birth, which is recorded as having occurred on 21 September 1891, making him about 26 1/2, instead. Domenico's home address is given as 315 Melrose St., Brooklyn, which is not an address I had previously encountered for him. His birthplace is given only as "Italy"; I know he was born in Bitetto, Bari, Puglia, Italy.
Domenico was first assigned to the "152 Dep Brig," which appears to be the 152nd Depot Brigade. According to Wikipedia, the Depot Brigades were organized to receive recruits and prepare them to fight overseas. However, from there he was assigned to Company I, 303rd Infantry, and never served overseas before his discharge on 2 Dec 1918. Of my four great-grandfathers who served in WWI, only one served overseas; Domenico was one of the three who did not.
Are the Gatto's from Pisciotta Italy or environs? My gray uncle Ralaele Gatto was taken in By my ancestors by the name of Anastasia. Aparently his step mother was very neglectful of him. Is there a connection?Vince
ReplyDeleteI too have just received the same form regarding my father's WWI service and you have helped decipher the reference to "Dep Brig" that appears on it. Thank you. As to there being no birth date, note that the explantory notes on the reverse of that card indicate that EITHER an age OR birthdate may be shown depending on what the enlistee provided.
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