Obituary of VINCENT SACCO

Vincent Sacco, a Decorated World War II Veteran POW and Public Servant, died peacefully surrounded by family on Sunday, Nov 9, 2014 after a well fought battle with cancer. Born in Brooklyn, NY. Vincent Sacco entered World War II almost by accident. After graduating early from high school, he was accepted into Bowdoin College as part of the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP). The program was however disbanded, and he was assigned to the infantry in the 94th Division of the Third Army under the command of General Patton. He landed at Omaha Beach 3 months after D-Day and served in four campaigns in Europe and was the combat platoon Sargent of the Third platoon of Company G. His decorations included the Combat Infantry badge and the Bronze star for Bravery. On March 6th 1945, the 6th Mountain German Storm Troopers surrounded his platoon outpost in the town of Kimmlefhof with tanks and blew away the top floor of his command post. He was captured soon after by the Germans. He was discharged in 1945 and entered Tri-state college in Indiana under the GI Bill and earned a BS in Electrical Engineering and a Masters in Management Engineering at the Newark College of Engineering. His engineering of government projects started with research and design as the transponder program manager for the manned aerospace programs - Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. He later joined Becton Dickinson and was the Director of Technical and Customer Service when he retired in 1993. After retirement, He accepted a position as the interim Montville Library Director for six months before returning as the Computer Training Instructor. He was awarded the WWII Commemorative Medal for Distinguished Military Service and the Public Service Award from the State of New Jersey. During this time he was also the Treasurer-Judge Advocate for the NJ Ex-Prisoners of War. Vince belonged to Montville Unico and Kiwanis Club, VFW, and American Ex-Prisoners of War. Vince is survived by his beloved wife, Joan, along with their 4 children, Susan (husband Lee), Robert (wife Randi), James (wife Tania) and Daniel and 5 grandchildren, Jeff, Gregory, Eric, Ben and Rachel. His 2 sisters, May Perillo and Annette Votruba along with nieces and nephews. Cremation will be private. In Lieu of Flowers, donations may be made in his memory to American Ex-Prisoners of War, Garden State Chapter #1. c/o Robert Levine, 655 Pomander Walk Apt 4100, Teaneck, NJ 07066