Vincent Speranza, popular WWII veteran and hero, passes away at 98

UPDATE: This story has been updated with funeral arrangements.

Vincent J. Speranza, a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II who became a hero in Belgium, died at Springfield Memorial Hospital Wednesday after a short illness.

The Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient was 98.

A Manhattan native known as "Papa," Speranza had been living in Auburn.

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Speranza opened up about his service in World War II later in life, captured in the book "NUTS!: A 101st Airborne Division Machine Gunner at Bastogne."

The title of the book is derived from the one-word answer American Gen. Anthony McAuliffe responded with to the German commander's demand that the beleaguered American troops surrender the Belgian town during one of the most famous battles of the war.

Speranza also participated in several oral history projects with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

At age 94, Speranza was one of two veterans who participated in a parachute drop marking the 75th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, an Allied military operation fought in the German-occupied Netherlands.

"We were just a bunch of kids, right out of high school, a lot of us like me, children of immigrant families," Speranza told a State Journal-Register reporter in 2017 about his enlistment. "Our parents were so proud of this country. My father was a patriot like you wouldn't believe. They expected their sons to defend the country, and we did."

Speranza was remembered in the small village of Bastogne, Belgium which still brews the popular Airborne Beer.

Speranza, whose first engagement during the Siege of Bastogne as part of the Battle of the Bulge was operating a machine gun from a foxhole outside of the town, recalled supplying beer to his artillery mate and some of his 101st Airborne brethren who were being treated for injuries. Speranza had found a working beer tap at a bombed-out tavern and delivered the beer in his helmet but was scolded by the surgeon for his efforts.

During a trip back to Belgium years later, Speranza discovered a Bastogne brewer had commemorated his story, with the Airborne Beer label showing a soldier, a likeness of Speranza, carrying army helmets full of beer.

“After being a machine gunner at the Battle of the Bulge, winning a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star and (spending) two decades as a public school (history) teacher, Airborne Beer is what I’m famous for,” he joked during a visit to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff in 2021, according to a university statement.

Speranza was one of the liberators of Kaufering, one of 11 subcamps of the Dachau concentration camp operated by the Germans, in April 1945.

In his book, Speranza recalled some of the survivors kissed his boots in gratitude for the liberation.

Speranza's army unit also made it to Adolf Hitler’s Berchtesgaden, or “Eagle’s Nest," where he recounted seeing the German dictator’s plan to divide up the globe with the other Axis powers when the war was over.

“If anybody ever doubted why we had to fight that war, there it was on the wall,” he said.

He was discharged from the U.S. Army in January 1946.

Speranza participated in veteran events in Europe up until D-Day this past spring.

"If you looked up 'Greatest Generation,' it's Vince," said Joan Bortolon, president of Land of Lincoln Honor Flight. "A huge presence will be missed not just in town, not just locally. He's going to be missed in Europe."

Speranza, she said, was on the Oct. 21, 2009, Honor Flight and later became a board member. Back then, the flights weren't commercial, and veterans were bussed from Springfield to St. Louis.

"Vince brought his harmonica," she said. "He played all the way down to St. Louis and played us all the way home. The bus was full of music from Vince and songs and stories. He was larger than life and so was his heart."

Bortolon said Speranza would talk to German schoolchildren about World War II and actually became part of the curriculum there.

"They invited him back so the young generation of Germany knew and embraced the truth about World War II," Bortolon said. "He absolutely loved talking to kids.

"He was an ambassador for everything that is right about this country and about freedom."

The U.S. Embassy in Brussels called Speranza a “true inspiration to all of us and to many people across the United States and Belgium,” in a tweet on Thursday. "A true force of nature, he was always present at every major ceremony commemorating the Battle of the Bulge, always ready to share stories of his service in World War II, and always humble."

Speranza, a Hells Kitchen native, spent his childhood on Staten Island in a large and extended Italian family. He had a bachelor’s degree in history and economics from Wagner University and a master’s degree in history and economics at New York University.

He is survived by a daughter, Katharine, and a son, Vincent. He was preceded in death by his wife, Iva, and his daughter, Susan.

A visitation will be held at Bramley Funeral Home, 550 E. Jackson St. in Auburn, from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. A private family graveside services will be at a later date.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Auburn III resident Vincent Speranza fought at Battle of the Bulge dies