The
Marlborough
Historical Society
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Marlborough, MA 01752-0513 United States
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Romeo Alfred Natoli
Motor Machinist Mate 2nd Class, USS WINOOSKI (AO-38)
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Romeo was born the 22nd of March, 1911 in Marlborough, Massachusetts. He lived in both Waltham, Massachusetts and various places in New Hampshire where he worked as a carpenter. He married Edna Steinman in 1932 and together they would have one daughter and two sons. While living in Waltham, Massachusetts and working as a hoisting engineer, Romeo enlisted into the Navy the 23rd of March 1944. Following his basic training at the Naval training station in Sampson, New York, Romeo departed for the Pacific Theater.
He was assigned to the USS WINOOSKI (AP-38), the second in the Kennebec class of United States Navy oilers used to resupply ships at sea. He ultimately obtained the rank of Motor Machinist Mate 2nd Class working on various pieces of mechanical equipment. He joined the vessel the 30th of May, 1944 shortly before the ship headed to Europe with a convoy the 8th of June 1944. The WINOOSKI again departed for Europe and acted as a resupply vessel for the ships supporting the landings in southern France. Returning to Norfolk, Virginia for a period of refit, Romeo and the WINOOSKI headed through the Panama Canal on the 22nd of October 1944 and sailed for Manus on the island of Papua New Guinea. The ship supported operations on Luzon and the landings at Lingayen Gulf in January of 1945.
Romeo and his crew next supported the landings at Mindanao islands in late April of 1945. On the 25th of April, 1945 Romeo received the sad news that his wife Edna had died at home in Massachusetts. Romeo was transferred off of the WINOOSKI to care for his children. On the 5th of May 1945 Romeo was a passenger aboard a C-54 Skymaster aircraft of the Air Transport Command that crashed on take off from Biak, New Guinea killing all hands. Romeo was originally buried at the Finschhafen Air Force Cemetery #2 on New Guinea. His remains were repatriated to the United States in 1951 and he is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, plot E, grave 220.