Joseph McDivitt

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Joseph Benjamin McDivitt (born July 23, 1917 in Pennsylvania , † January 20, 2019 in Newhall , California ) was a colonel in the United States Army .

Life

Joseph McDivitt was a colonel in the American Army who, on April 28, 1945, helped Swiss Army Colonel Mario Martinoni resolve the presence of more than 300 German soldiers on the Italian - Swiss border at Chiasso .

In the days shortly before the end of World War II , April 27 and 28, Major McDivitt negotiated between approx. 300 German soldiers who wanted to avoid internment by the Allies or arrest by Italian partisans by crossing the border at Chiasso by force. By doing this, McDivitt made it easier for the German troops massed at the border to surrender to the Americans, thus greatly reducing the internment pressure on Switzerland in his sector. Without his intervention, the city and population of Chiasso might have suffered severe damage.

In 2010 he participated in the remembrance of the facts of Chiasso , which aroused strong compassion among the residents of the region.

On August 1, 2011, on the occasion of the celebrations for the Swiss National Day, he was awarded honorary citizenship by the Mayor of Chiasso, Moreno Colombo, and by the Deputy Mayor Roberta Pantani .

McDivitt died in January 2019 at the age of 101 in Newhall, fraction of the Santa Clarita Ward.

literature

  • Alessandro Zanoli: Chiasso, scene dalla guerra, in: Azione , Cooperativa Migros Ticinese, April 19, 2010, p. 5.
  • Rivista militare della Svizzera italiana: Chiasso 1945 - Riconoscimento dei meriti del colonnello Mario Martinoni, year LXXXII, no. 5, September – ottobre 2010.
  • Different authors: April 28, 1945. I fatti di Chiasso , Comune di Chiasso, Tipografia Progetto Stampa SA, Chiasso 2010.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Joseph McDivitt (Italian) on LaRegione.ch/articolo/joseph-mcdivitt-tra-i-protagonisti-dei-fatti-di-chiasso (accessed on: October 30, 2017.)
  2. ↑ Cittadinanza onoraria del comune di Chiasso (Italian) on chiasso.ch/wp-content/uploads/2017
  3. ^ Addio al colonnello Joseph McDivitt (Italian) on laregione.ch/cantone/mendrisiotto
personal data
SURNAME McDivitt, Joseph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES McDivitt, Joseph Benjamin (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American officer
DATE OF BIRTH July 23, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH 20th January 2019
Place of death Newhall , California