Italian American Veterans Museum and Library
“Representative of the contributions made to America by the Italian American immigrant was Alfonse Capone.”  Alistaire Cooke,  America, The Immigrant.  

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Employees

Subject: Annual Appeal: Influence of the Italian American Veteran's Museum and Library (IAVML) on the upcoming Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks miniseries, "The Pacific." 

Dear Colleague:

 If you are of Italian descent, this may be of heightened interest to you. 

 The Italian American Veterans’ Museum & Library (IAVML) in Stone Park, IL has recently been added to Morgan Stanley Direct to Charity approved list.  You will now be able to submit your Direct to Charity (DTC) application or your One-Time or Recurring Payroll Deduction to the Italian American Veterans’ Museum and Library.

The Museum recently sponsored a presentation covering John Basilone and his heroic deeds during the pivotal battle for Guadalcanal. (See attachment, which may take a while for it to eventually open.) 

John Basilone, son of immigrant parents, was the only enlisted man in World War II to win both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross…medals awarded only for valor in battle. Guadalcanal, in 1942, was the turning point of the war in the Pacific. It was the first time that the Americans defeated the Japanese.  Basilone’s heroics turned defeat into victory for the outnumbered marines left stranded on the island. Only 2 men from his 14 man crew were alive after the furious bonsai attacks had been repelled, leaving virtually an entire regiment of Japanese bodies piled one upon the other.  America’s first bona fide WWII hero was killed on the beaches of Iwo Jima, just months before the end of the war in 1945.  Vito Favia, one of our Taylor Street bred marine, died on those same beaches just days later.