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Ralph “Fluffy” Landolfi
Former deli owner received three Bronze Stars in Korea.
By Matthew Fleishman, BucksLocalNews.com
At 21 years old, Ralph “Fluffy” Landolfi was sent to Korea after being drafted into the U.S. Army.
“I was stunned,” said Landolfi. “I didn’t know what to expect with the war going on. All I knew was that I would be away from home for two years.”
Landolfi, who was born in Trenton in 1930, was working for Labor and Industry in New Jersey when he was drafted and sent to Fort Dix for a week. From there, he was sent to Camp Gordon in Georgia for eight weeks of basic training, and eight weeks of training for his duties in Korea, which were jobs in Army communications.
In Landolfi’s first assignment, he was a courier dispatcher and would have to deliver information to the front.
“I would deliver messages to R.O.C. outfits at the front,” said Landolfi. “All alone at night with just the cat eyes of the Jeep. The only time I wasn’t scared over there was when they sent me to Japan on ‘R and R.’”
Soon after, Landolfi was assigned to the 937th Field Artillery B Battery, which was equipped with four M-40 self-propelled 8-inch guns. With the 937th, Landolfi was a radio jeep operator, which meant that he would go ahead of the unit to set up radio communication capabilities.
“We would always have one artillery piece with us, and would go up with a convoy that would pick a spot,” said Landolfi. “My job was to set up communications with the FDC (Fire Direction Center). Then we would be sent to the observation post to report on enemy activity and call in fire power.”
It was while with the 937th that Landolfi was injured, and subsequently received the Purple Heart. While scouting a new position for the outfit in September 1952, Landolfi’s truck was hit, injuring him and two other men in his unit, causing him to spend two weeks in the hospital with a leg injury.
“I didn’t know I got wounded until I put my hand on my leg and it was hot from the blood,” said Landolfi. “I was in the truck trying to get my gear out, and then we ran for cover just as the truck got hit.”
After recovering, Landolfi another nine months in Korea, and was sent home the day the truce was signed in 1953. He was honorably discharged from the Army on Sept. 16, 1953.
For his service in Korea, Landolfi, who is a member of both VFW Post 6393 and American Legion Post 317, received three Bronze Stars, the Korean Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal, in addition to the Purple Heart.
Back at home, Landolfi opened the original Landolfi’s Deli in the Yardley Town Center in 1983 with his son, Steve. The Landolfi name was already famous in Trenton, as his father, Pasquale, owned Landolfi’s Frozen Food. The deli closed in 1988, but Steve later re-opened the deli in its current location on South Main Street in Yardley Borough.
Landolfi lives with his wife of nearly 55 years, Loretta, and they have five children, 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
“I was stunned,” said Landolfi. “I didn’t know what to expect with the war going on. All I knew was that I would be away from home for two years.”
Landolfi, who was born in Trenton in 1930, was working for Labor and Industry in New Jersey when he was drafted and sent to Fort Dix for a week. From there, he was sent to Camp Gordon in Georgia for eight weeks of basic training, and eight weeks of training for his duties in Korea, which were jobs in Army communications.
In Landolfi’s first assignment, he was a courier dispatcher and would have to deliver information to the front.
“I would deliver messages to R.O.C. outfits at the front,” said Landolfi. “All alone at night with just the cat eyes of the Jeep. The only time I wasn’t scared over there was when they sent me to Japan on ‘R and R.’”
Soon after, Landolfi was assigned to the 937th Field Artillery B Battery, which was equipped with four M-40 self-propelled 8-inch guns. With the 937th, Landolfi was a radio jeep operator, which meant that he would go ahead of the unit to set up radio communication capabilities.
“We would always have one artillery piece with us, and would go up with a convoy that would pick a spot,” said Landolfi. “My job was to set up communications with the FDC (Fire Direction Center). Then we would be sent to the observation post to report on enemy activity and call in fire power.”
It was while with the 937th that Landolfi was injured, and subsequently received the Purple Heart. While scouting a new position for the outfit in September 1952, Landolfi’s truck was hit, injuring him and two other men in his unit, causing him to spend two weeks in the hospital with a leg injury.
“I didn’t know I got wounded until I put my hand on my leg and it was hot from the blood,” said Landolfi. “I was in the truck trying to get my gear out, and then we ran for cover just as the truck got hit.”
After recovering, Landolfi another nine months in Korea, and was sent home the day the truce was signed in 1953. He was honorably discharged from the Army on Sept. 16, 1953.
For his service in Korea, Landolfi, who is a member of both VFW Post 6393 and American Legion Post 317, received three Bronze Stars, the Korean Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal, in addition to the Purple Heart.
Back at home, Landolfi opened the original Landolfi’s Deli in the Yardley Town Center in 1983 with his son, Steve. The Landolfi name was already famous in Trenton, as his father, Pasquale, owned Landolfi’s Frozen Food. The deli closed in 1988, but Steve later re-opened the deli in its current location on South Main Street in Yardley Borough.
Landolfi lives with his wife of nearly 55 years, Loretta, and they have five children, 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
posted by BucksLocalNews at
3:08 PM
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