REMEMBERING WORLD WAR II VETERAN, VAUDEVILLIAN MUSICIAN AND FULLERTON RESIDENT, CHARLES PAUL PECORARO; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 116
(Extensions of Remarks - July 11, 2019)
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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING WORLD WAR II VETERAN, VAUDEVILLIAN MUSICIAN AND FULLERTON
RESIDENT, CHARLES PAUL PECORARO
______
HON. GILBERT RAY CISNEROS, JR.
of california
in the house of representatives
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Mr. CISNEROS. Madam Speaker, it is with immense sadness and great
humility that I rise to mark the passing of another member of America's
greatest generation. Charles Paul Pecoraro was an entertainer, a
businessman, a veteran of the Second World War, a stalwart member of
the veteran's community in Southern California, and most of all, a
beloved family man who passed away at the age of 100 on July 2, 2019.
Charles Pecoraro was born in the living room of his parents' small
Manhattan apartment on November 29, 1918. It was the height of the
First World War but also the age of rag-time, when New York City had
more horses than cars. Charles' life spanned and exceeded what we now
refer to as the American Century.
Music was his family's business and his greatest passion. By the age
of seven he was accompanying his father, a classically trained Sicilian
mandolin player. Before he turned twenty he was a veteran of the
Vaudeville circuit, having toured up and down the East Coast playing
jazz guitar and earning his chops in concert halls, speakeasies, dance
clubs, and Broadway orchestra pits.
When America entered the Second World War, Charles didn't hesitate.
He joined the Coast Guard and served aboard the Admiral H.T. Mayo (AP-
125). Charles sailed on the ship's shakedown cruise, then transiting
the Panama Canal, helped ferry troops during two trips across the
Atlantic. Transiting the Panama Canal again, Charles continued his
service in the Pacific where he and his shipmates transported more
troops to the Okinawa campaign.
Evading U-Boats in the Atlantic and outrunning Japanese submarines
and aircraft in the Pacific, Charles attained the rank of Petty Officer
1st Class. He would ultimately return to his music career, before
beginning what his family refers to as his third act. Charles met the
love of his life Lucy, his wife of 53 years. He, Lucy, and their only
son ``Charlie'' Charles Pecoraro, Jr. moved to Fullerton, California in
the 1970s so that Charles could join his brother Steve. Together, they
opened Angelo's & Vinci's, a neighborhood institution that still stands
and continues to thrive only blocks from my office. Its success is
carried on by the spirit of the two Sicilian-American brothers who
founded it.
Like many men of his generation, Charles was modest to the extreme.
A deeply devoted religious and family man, he spoke little of his
wartime service. Only after his son was grown did Charles' neighbors in
Fullerton convince him to share his story with others. He joined
Fullerton's American Legion Post 142, where he became a quiet example
of service to others and a fixture at events. In fact, one of those
events was Fullerton's Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony where I had
the honor to shake his hand.
Madam Speaker, at this time, I ask that you and my distinguished
colleagues join me in honoring Charles Paul Pecoraro for his dedication
to God, country, the arts and most of all his surviving family members,
wife Lucy and son Charles. We are blessed to have had this man for a
century and to have his memory continue to inspire us.
____________________