Southington Vet Who Shadowed Patton 'Honored' With Home Repairs

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A World War II veteran who essentially shadowed Gen. George S. Patton through Europe was "honored" over the weekend by a squardron of volunteers who fixed up his Southington home.

The efforts on Saturday were spearheaded by House of Heroes Connecticut.

In the months following the invasion of Normandy in June, 1944, Pvt. First Class Nicholas Lanteri played a vital role as a telecommunications technician with the 555th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion of the Army Air Corps.

The unit's assignment was to follow closely behind Patton’s Third Army as his communications hub while Patton’s troops fought their way across Europe.

“We came ashore on Utah Beach,” said the 99-year-old Lanteri, a resident of Southington. “We brought along lots of heavy, top secret radar equipment. The water was up to our chests. “We were 2 miles behind Patton wherever he went across Europe, including the Battle of the Bulge. It was my job to make sure the telephone equipment worked. We followed Patton right through to the end of the war."

He then added, “I was fortunate that I never had to shoot a gun.”

On Saturday, Lanteri’s "service to our nation was recognized" as a team of about 30 volunteers
from House of Heroes Connecticut, most of them employees of project sponsor PCX Aerostructures of
Newington.

They descended upon Mr. Lanteri’s 48 Bagley Road home to provide home repairs that included
the installation of a handicap ramp, window repairs, carpentry and yard work.

"It's an honor and privilege for PCX Aerostructures and our employees to have the opportunity to show a Greatest Generation veteran such as Mr. Lanteri just how much we appreciate his service to our country," said PCX Aerostructures President and CEO Jeff Frisby. "The partnership we enjoy with House of Heroes offers us an ideal chance to give back to those who have given so much to us."

House of Heroes Connecticut "recognizes, honors and serves" military and public safety veterans and/or
their surviving spouses for their "sacrificial service to America." The organization’s goal is to “make a difference in a day” through the provision of one-day, no-cost home improvements with a priority placed on safety and accessibility. Including Saturday’s project, the Connecticut Chapter has assisted 108 military and public safety veterans and/or their surviving spouses in 42 cities and towns across Connecticut, as well as in seven additional states, since its founding in 2012.

The Lanteri project was HOHCT’s ninth in Southington.

Lanteri was born in Bristol in 1919 and grew up in New Britain. He entered military service in January, 1943 at age 23, and trained at Drew Field in Tampa, Florida. He was discharged in December, 1945 and shortly thereafter married his wife Marie. The couple raised two children, Annelise Fusco of Southington and Paul Lanteri of Stratford.

Lanteri spent his post-military career working first at a small tool shop in New Britain and later as
printer in the newspaper business for many years with the Southington News and Middletown Press,
eventually retiring in the mid-1980s.

Lanteri earned the European African Campaign Ribbon, Victory Medal (Belgium) and Good Conduct Medal.

In 1984 and 1994, Lanteri attended the 40th and 50th commemorations of D-Day in Normandy with
his family, visiting Utah Beach, Omaha Beach and the American and British cemeteries.

Mission BBQ of Southington provided lunch for all volunteers free of charge.

For more information about House of Heroes Connecticut, to nominate a veteran, volunteer for a project or to make a donation in support of the organization’s mission, visit www.hohct.org.

Photo Credit: House of Heroes

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