Delayed Honor:
Local veteran receives medal 60 years later
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Dr. Francis Visconti, left, receives the Bronze Star Medal from
retired New Mexico National Guard Gen. Gene Sisneros. |
Special to the Trinidad Plus
August 6, 2002
Raton—World War II, in terms of lives
lost and material destruction, was the most devastating war in human history. Now nearly
60 years later, the U.S. government has recognized a local veteran for his heroic actions
during that global military conflict.
On July 19, the staff members of Miners' Colfax Medical Center in Raton honored Francis Visconti, M.D., as he received the Bronze Star Medal for his service in the Mediterranean and European Theaters from 1943 to 1945.
Retired National Guard Gen. Gene Sisneros presented the award to Visconti, who is MCMC's medical director and a Trinidad resident. The pinning of the star to the veteran's chest was met with thunderous applause from hospital staff members, community representatives and Visconti's family who gathered at the MCMC Long-Term Care Facility.
In his acceptance, Visconti, who maintained a medical office in Trinidad before his retirement, recalled some of his wartime experiences and the fear of running away during battle. But Visconti never ran from battle. In fact, he often held his ground under intense enemy fire or ran to where the danger was the most tangible. This is why he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service during one of the greatest wars in history.
"I am very proud and pleased," he said modestly. "I am very grateful."
In 1943, Visconti was a 19-year-old man serving his country by battling Hitler and his German forces in the Mediterranean and European Theaters of Operations. Visconti operated a machinegun with the 995th Field Artillery Battalion. This unit was involved in 472 days of continuous battle that included 1,872 missions in France, Germany and Italy.
While fighting in Italy in
early 1944, Visconti's machinegun pit sustained a direct hit from German aircraft while
the young American was a few feet away reloading his weapon.
"It was January 1944 in southern Italy," Visconti recalled. "The land south of the Rapido River was held by the allied forces and the area north of the river belonged to the German army. The town of Cassino, the center of German resistance, sat on the north bank. It was a fortress of destroyed homes, and required four months and the lives of 22,000 men to capture that town.
"My machinegun position was on a hill overlooking a valley in which our Howitzers were positioned. It was an excellent position even though it was in the line of fire from friend and foe. From my position one could see the valley east and west for several miles.
"The day broke clear, and we were taking heavy enemy artillery fire. Suddenly, we were attacked by German aircraft. Their initial passes were along the valley in an attempt to knockout the Howitzers with bombs and machinegun fire. The final pass came directly over my position. Action in war is spontaneous. The only awareness is the target. The only thing that exists is the target.
"Suddenly, it was over. In the process of again changing a hot barrel, I looked up to see two of the men in the section standing above me. I continued to load the ammunition, and then looked again. Their mouths were open and they were looking past me. I turned to see that a section of my gun pit had taken enemy fire. That no plane fell out of the sky that day has always been a disappointment."
"Action in war is spontaneous," Visconti said. "All of a sudden your in the middle of hell."
Despite relentless bombardment, he held his position and continued firing at the enemy.
"I had an excellent position for firing on those planes," Visconti modestly said when he was asked why he didn't flee from the heavy artillery fire as other soldiers had done.
In another incident at Cassino a few months later, an enemy artillery fire destroyed the military field kitchen that fed Visconti and his fellow soldiers. The attack occurred during a meal and several soldiers were trapped beneath the remains of the building.
"I knew somebody had to be in trouble," he said. "I could see smoke and debris and people were running away, and some running toward the building."
Visconti, who was manning his position on a nearby hill, saw the devastation and rushed to help. As the kitchen site continued to receive direct hits, Visconti worked to free the trapped men.
"Earth was coming up all around me," Visconti recalled. "I thought, 'This is the place I'm going to die.'"
As Visconti sorted through wreckage, he saw a single foot protruding from a heap of charred wood and twisted metal.
"We started digging until we got him out," Visconti said.
After much hard work, Visconti pulled a soldier named Bill Wyman from rubble. In fact, Dr. Visconti was instrumental in saving the life of this man.
"I guess you might say that," Visconti said reticently. "You don't know you care for people that much."
However, Wyman's life wasn't the only one redeemed by Visconti. He also rescued a soldier stationed with a New Zealand unit when German artillery attacked this allied outfit in mid-1944 in Italy.
"I had just returned from being deloused when I saw the ambulance go by and I followed it," he recalled. "Something wouldn't let me go to where it was safe. Something made me go down that road."
While canvassing the nearby battlefield, Visconti risked his own well being to search for wounded men in a burning gun pit.
"The powder was popping and burning," Visconti recalled.
Although he found no one in the pit, he found the New Zealand soldier propped against a grapevine, injured but alive. He led the man out of harm's way to a place of safety where the soldier received first aid.
These are only three of the many stories of Visconti's service to his country, but they are the reason he was presented with this prestigious commendation.
When asked why he risked his own life to save the lives of others or why he continued doing his job under heavy enemy fire, Visconti said it had nothing to do with courage.
"You just do it," he said. "You don't do it because you're brave. You just do it."Visconti said his war experience taught him determination and persistence. Those virtues greatly helped him become a doctor, a dream he had since childhood.
"When I was 6 years old, I told my aunt I was going to be a doctor," he said.
Since graduating from medical school, Visconti has worked to serve his patients and provide them with the best care possible.
He began practicing in Loveland, Colo., in 1961 followed by career in Trinidad. He joined the MCMC staff as a general physician in 1972 and was selected as the facility's medical director in the late 90s.
In 1944, Gen. George S. Patton rallied the troops fighting World War II by delivering a speech on the importance of each man's contribution to the effort.
"Every single man in this Army plays a vital role," Patton said. "Don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain."
It seems Visconti took the message to heart. By just doing his job throughout the years, whether as a service man or a physician, he has been instrumental in saving numerous lives and influencing innumerable people.
Despite the recognition for his military service, Visconti said another thing has meant more to him and has been a greater accomplishment in his life than his military service.
"To have lived my life as a physician in general
practice in a rural community is a greater reward than receiving the Nobel Prize as a
scientist or a medal of honor as a service man," Visconti said. "I am most
grateful for the life I've spent as a physician."
By Sherri Grona