Not Forgotten
Memorial Day had added solemnity this year for Antonetta Bell of Boyers. The retired math teacher from the Butler Intermediate High School and her granddaughter, Zoie Kondos, 19, of Evans City, spent the holiday weekend in the Netherlands visiting the grave of Bell's father, Pasquale Niro.
Niro is buried at the World War II Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, located in Margraten just 11 miles east of Germany where he was killed on Feb. 28, 1945, while clearing a house of snipers near the town of Rheydt.
“Pasquale Niro was born in Argentina and lived in Italy before moving to Boyers. He left Italy when he was 18 years old. We're not sure where he was from 18 to 30, but he met my mother when he was 30,” Bell said.
“They were riding on a bus in Cleveland in 1940. They were married three months later in Boyers,” Bell said.
He spent only four years with his wife, the former Mary DeMatteis, before he enlisted in the Army.
Bell said she doesn't remember her father because she was only 2½ when he enlisted in February 1944. Her sister, Rita, was only 6 weeks old in July 1944 when he shipped out to Europe.
Bell said he was a replacement soldier in the 29th Infantry.
He joined Company L on Sept. 19, 1944, after the 29th Infantry's Brest campaign, she said, and moved with the 29th into Germany.
“He was wounded in October 1944 and killed in action in 1945,” said Bell
“He was awarded the Silver Star on Feb. 23, 1945,” said Bell, “when he volunteered to take ammunition to a cutoff platoon. Less than a week later, he was dead.
“We have a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts,” said Bell, as well as a letter stating Niro had died at a battalion aid station of wounds he received in action.
Bell and her granddaughter were visiting Bell's cousin in Italy when they decided to take in the Memorial Day ceremonies at the cemetery.
They left from Pittsburgh on May 18 and returned June 3, visiting Italy, the Netherlands and Germany.
The Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands, covering 65.5 acres and containing the graves of 8,301 American servicemen and a tower commemorating another 1,722 missing in action.It wasn't the first time Bell had visited her father's grave.“I belong to the AWON Network (The American World War II Orphans Network) and my sister, too,” said Bell. “I had been over there in 2005 for Memorial Day with that group.”She also attended Memorial Day ceremonies in 2010 with an AWON group. She also was at the ceremony in 1998.“This year, I was there by myself with my granddaughter after visiting a relative in Italy,” she said.Bell said the local Dutch had adopted the Americans' graves visiting them and bringing flowers. One woman used to write Bell's mother about tending Niro's grave.“Every year on Memorial Day — they celebrate on Sunday, we celebrate on Monday — they have a Mass at 10 a.m., and we went to that and then we went to my father's grave,” she said.Bell said she asked a Dutch couple to take a picture of her and her granddaughter at the grave and the couple wound up taking them to lunch.
“They insisted. They are so grateful to the Americans. They took us to lunch. We didn't know them,” Bell said.Another couple, Anneka and Leon Segers, invited the Americans to dinner at their home Sunday night after the ceremonies. Bell had met the Segers in 2005.“They live a few blocks from where we were staying. He walked over and picked us up and together they walked us back to our home,” she said.“People in the Netherlands, they just are so grateful to the Americans for what they did to liberate them,” Bell said.She added a Dutch woman they met at the cemetery, Danielle Ruten, said she would visit Pasquale Niro's grave.“I got note from Danielle. She wanted the name and location of his grave. She will bring flowers there, along with the grave that she and her parents have adopted,” Bell said.Bell and Kondos returned to the cemetery for the afternoon ceremony.Bell said at 3 p.m. there was what the Duch call the American service conducted in English.Bell said, “There was a men's choir. They had I don't know how many speakers. An Army and Navy band march and play music.”
“They play the Dutch anthem and then our anthem. A U.S. Army chaplain gives the invocation, the choir sings. The Dutch secretary of state for health, welfare and sports speaks,” said Bell. “They lay wreaths and blow 'Taps.'”Bell said she was asked to help in the wreath-laying ceremony.“It's a beautiful service and they do this every year on Memorial Day,” she said. “It is just an amazing day, an amazing ceremony.”The Butler County duo even ran into some fellow Americans, service member stationed in Europe.Bell said she would like to visit her father's grave at least one more time and with her sister, Rita Blair of San Diego, although Rita's health would make the trip difficult.“My sister has Parkinson's. She would like to go back one more time. She would like to make one more trip. If and when she is able and ready to go, I would go with her,” she said.
