Four-time Purple Heart recipient grateful for his country
Views from the Shore
On July 2, 1958, a 10-year-old boy stepped off a ship and onto American soil for the first time. He had left behind a small village in post-war Italy where poverty was common, opportunity was scarce, and the scars of World War II remained visible everywhere. Unexploded bombs and landmines still dotted the countryside. Families struggled to make ends meet. For young Marco Polo Smigliani, America represented something he had only dreamed about: possibility.
This July 2 marks the 68th anniversary of Marco’s arrival in the United States, a date that takes on even greater significance as our nation celebrates its 250th birthday. Few people I know have a deeper appreciation for America or a more unique perspective on what this country has meant to generations of immigrants.
When I sat down with Marco recently, I expected to hear stories about his military service. After all, he is a four-time Purple Heart recipient, a United States Marine who served with the legendary 1st Battalion, 9th Marines during the Vietnam War. His battalion, known as “The Walking Dead” because of its staggering casualty rate, lost 747 Marines whose names now appear on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
But what struck me most wasn’t what Marco said about war. It was what he said about America.
For Marco, patriotism isn’t political. It isn’t partisan. It comes from having seen firsthand what life looked like before America became his home.
He remembers growing up in Italy in the years following World War II. He remembers family members who were killed by landmines left behind after the fighting ended. He remembers neighbors who worked their entire lives and remained poor. He remembers a world where opportunity was limited and where many people simply accepted the circumstances they were born into.
Then his family came to America.
Like so many immigrant families, they arrived with very little except hope and a willingness to work hard. Marco learned English, attended school, worked jobs, and eventually became an American citizen. As a teenager, he joined the Merchant Marines and traveled the world aboard American ships. During one voyage to Vietnam, he found himself thinking about service, sacrifice, and responsibility.
Many young men during that era were looking for ways to avoid military service. Marco made a different choice. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s famous call to service, he left a well-paying Merchant Marine position and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.
“You can’t just take,” he told me. “You have to give back.”
That belief has guided him throughout his life. After Vietnam, he recovered from devastating combat wounds, built businesses, served his community, raised a family, and became an advocate for veterans. Along the way, he never lost sight of the opportunities that America had given him.
At one point during our conversation, Marco paused and reflected on the journey that brought him from a small Italian village to a life filled with experiences he never imagined possible.
“My life has been a series of voyages that unfurled my childhood dreams,” he said.
It may be the most fitting description of his life I’ve ever heard.
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, Marco worries that many people have forgotten how fortunate they are. Not because life is easy, but because many have never experienced the hardships that previous generations endured. He talks about appreciating simple things—a hot shower, a refrigerator full of food, the freedom to speak your mind, the ability to pursue your own path.
For someone who remembers a different world, those things are not ordinary. They are extraordinary.
Perhaps that’s why Marco’s message resonates so strongly. His story reminds us that America’s greatest strength has always been its ability to offer opportunity to those willing to work for it. Nearly seven decades after arriving on our shores, his faith in that promise remains unshaken.
As our nation prepares to celebrate 250 years of independence, Marco’s message is both simple and profound:
“Anything is possible in America, even today.”
Brian Cahill is the Director of Marketing for Shore Medical Center and Shore Physicians Group. He also volunteers on the Board of the Somers Point Business Association and is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at Stockton University.
The Smigliani family in 1973 – Bina, Mama Laura, Marco, Thommaso, and Pap Attilo
