Soldier killed by bomb?

[daniel152]

Hi everyone!

There has always been this story in my family that my grandfather had a brother who died in World War II. His name was apparently Lorenzo Moscati, and all anyone knows about him is that he was born in the area of Casamare or San Castrese just beside the big city of Sessa Aurunca. He would have been born in the 1920’s as his parents were born in 1903 and 1902.
It’s also family lore that he was killed in action by a bomb. But I can’t find any information on him, not even a birth record. Any help, knowledge or direction is greatly appreciated!!

[erudita74]

Are you assuming he never came to the US and died fighting for Italy in the war? or could he have been fighting for the U.S., and is it possible that the spelling of his surname changed here in the U.S., and that's why you can't find any info about him?

Here's the grave of someone about his age who died during WWII, but the surname is somewhat different:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/114 ... massicotte

[bbivona]

Are you assuming he never came to the US and died fighting for Italy in the war? or could he have been fighting for the U.S., and is it possible that the spelling of his surname changed here in the U.S., and that's why you can't find any info about him?

Here's the grave of someone about his age who died during WWII, but the surname is somewhat different:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/114 ... massicotte

Doing some quick checking, that Paul L. Massicotte was born in Keene, NH, and according to the 1930 census, his parents were both born in Canada.

[Italysearcher]

Records for 1920 are not on line. Write to the town for his birth record.

[mmogno]

Lorenzo Moscati does not appear in the lists of the Italian soldiers dead in the 2nd World War or even in the "Ruoli matricolari classe 1921-1933" of the district of Caserta.
https://www.difesa.it/Il_Ministro/ONORC ... ativo.aspx
https://www.ascaserta.beniculturali.it/ ... 1-1933.pdf

[erudita74]

I also had searched on the Italian Defense Minster's website and didn't see Lorenzo listed there. I do, however, understand that that database is incomplete. I also think that, if the Italian military ruoli are missing his name, that the poster has an incorrect first name for the individual.

In reply to bbivona-I was just trying to point out that the poster wasn't clear concerning whether the individual had ever come to the U.S. or had remained in Italy and that, if in fact the individual had come to the U.S. and served in the U.S. military, that perhaps his surname in a database might be spelled incorrectly. I didn't believe that the example I gave from the find-a-grave website was him. Sorry my giving that example was confusing, but if he did show up in that database, the info concerning a death in the war might have been referenced there, as in the example I cited. Again, sorry for the confusion.

[daniel152]

Hi everyone thankyou for the replies! So Lorenzo died in Italy, and no one from his family (none of his brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, or parents) moved to the US except his brother, who is my grandfather. I don't think his body was ever found, but if he has a grave it would be in the cemetery of Lauro-San Castrese. It may be possible that if he never was in the war, then he could have stepped on a landmine as a child, as that is the case for another person on a different branch of my family. I appreciate all of the help!