On Friday, May 9th, 2014, Santo Endrizzi, a member of the Long Island Accordion Alliance (LIAA), was bestowed a special honor. This 93 years young World War II veteran received the prestigious Legion of Honor Medal (Ordre national de la Légion d’Honneur) from the French government at the West Point Military Academy, West Point, NY “in front of cadets who will be making up the next generation of U.S. military officers.”
On this day, thirty-four USA veterans were knighted by the French government in a special ceremony overlooking the majestic Hudson River. Lieutenant General Robert Caslen welcomed the group and Mr. Bertrand Lortholary, the New York French Consul General and Mr. Guy Wildenstein, President of the American Society of the French Legion of Honor, presented the veterans with their prestigious medals.
Santo, also known as Sam, was honored and humbled by the award ceremony and was very grateful for the recognition he received. He served in Pontois, France from 1944 to 1945 in the 9th Army Air Force, 344th Bomb Group, 495th Bomb Squadron.
Santo was born in a small town named Cavedago in the Trentino (Trentino-Alto Adige) region of Italy. His parents were born in the same town but it was then under Austrian rule. The people there refer to themselves as Tyrolians.
In 1936, at the age of fifteen, Santo and his older sister left from the port of Genoa and sailed to New York where their father was waiting for them. The family resided at164 Wyckoff Avenue, Ridgewood, NY.
Although his first love was the accordion, he started taking music lessons on the violin because the family couldn’t afford to buy an accordion. He started his musical studies at the age of sixteen at the State School of Music which was located at 1397 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY. The cost for lessons at that time was twenty-five cents. In November of 1937 Santo’s father purchased a second hand, full size, 120 bass accordion for him for $300.00. Because he loved the instrument so much Santo practiced for hours at a time. His teacher, known as “Mr. Brown,” was really Mr. Cacioppo. “Mr. Brown was easier to pronounce.”
His competing and performing in various competitions and recitals, some of which were held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, resulted in his winning several medals. It was at these events that Santo met his fellow Long Island Accordion Alliance (LIAA) colleague and eventual life long friend Phil Franzese. In the 1940s Santo played the accordion at a resort in the Catskills called the Grandview Mountain House in East Windham, NY.
In 1942 he was drafted into the Army Air Force. He was stationed in Fort Meyers and Lakeland Florida and was assigned to the 344th Bomb Group, 495th Bomb Squadron as a flight engineer on a B26. They practiced dropping bombs over the Everglades. Before going overseas Santo requested to become a mechanic. He went overseas on the Queen Elisabeth which was traveling unescorted and carrying 18,000 soldiers. He volunteered to help serve meals to the English gunners that were manning the battle stations. As a result, he was given free reign of the ship unlike his peers who were confined to their specific area. They landed safely in Glasgow Scotland.
The war took him to England, France and Belgium. He met many paesani along the way. On returning home after spending three years in military service he became a citizen of the United States and in the summers months returned to playing the accordion at the Catskill resort on weekends.
Santo held several different jobs after his return home. One of these was owning a saloon business with his brother-in law. He married his wife, Ida, in 1954 and they had four children (Marion Whelpley, Donald Endrizzi, Julie Rooney and Joan Woodbury). At the age of forty-eight he became a car inspector for NYC Transit Authority and retired as a supervisor at the age of sixty-eight. He has ten grandchildren.
The family keeps him busy as also does the Tyrolian Club he belongs to. His becoming a member of the Long Island Accordion Alliance (LIAA) brings Santo back to his original love and passion – the accordion. Santo plays on the first Wednesday of every month at La Vilini Restaurant in East Northport, NY with the Long Island Accordion Alliance (LIAA). This is the “tonic” that keeps him young and enthusiastic and he especially enjoys the camaraderie of his fellow accordionists.
