RICHFIELD SPRINGS _ Better late than never.
On Friday, during the town of Springfield's Independence Day parade, Sgt. Chester A. Scerra of Richfield will be awarded the Italian Cross of War Merit.
The honor, commemorating his role in liberating Italy during World War II, was due 63 years ago but somehow never was delivered.
``I knew about it and once wrote to the Italian embassy, but when I didn't hear anything back, I just put it out of my mind,'' Scerra, 86, said last month.
Back in 1942, this Herkimer native, who's lived on the shore of Canadarago Lake since the 1960s, was drafted.
``Soon after I got in, I was asked if I spoke Italian,'' he recalled.
Scerra said he did, and he was transported to Washington, where he would go to work for the Office of Strategic Services under the direction of Gen. William J. Donovan.
``I didn't really know what I was getting into,'' he said. But the world was at war and it was hard to reverse course, so he went along with the program.
``We were taken to Virginia to learn about bombs and then to Fort Benning in Georgia for training in jumping (from airplanes),'' he said.
His unit of the OSS, a forerunner of the CIA, was sent to Northern Africa, where they honed their soldier-spy skills and got ready to work behind enemy lines.
``Then we went to Corsica and it was terrible,'' Scerra said. ``We hid out in the mountains and we were always on the run.''
On this Mediterranean island, his unit was charged with spying on German troops, who controlled the area, and relaying information to the Allies.
``We had a radio man. We were in touch with the British and when we'd find something, they'd send in their Lancasters (bombers)," Scerra said.
During the day, ``Donovan's devils'' slipped into villages, alert to troop movements, ammunition dumps and any intelligence to help the cause.
When the sun went down, they'd melt into the countryside, sleeping in a different place every night.
Others in OSS units were captured and killed, but those in Scerra's unit made it through the Corsica campaign. Later, they landed on other islands controlled by the Germans, directing planes to targets and causing trouble wherever possible.
``Then we landed in Italy,'' he said.
Italy, led by Benito Mussolini, had entered the war on the German side, but by 1943, Mussolini was deposed. Many Italians were friendly, but not everyone was to be trusted, Scerra said.
``Someone took our picture once and we thought they were friendly, but it ended up in the newspaper,'' he said.
Publicity is the last thing a secret unit wants, he noted.
Finding food was an everyday problem and sometimes had to be pilfered.
``We ate a lot of chestnuts, and we got food from the patriots,'' Scerra said.
And everyone focused on staying alive.
``I'd just gotten married before I went in, and I was worried whether I'd ever get home again,'' he said.
Still, the Allies kept pushing, the Germans kept retreating, and by 1945, the war was over.
Scerra returned home. He managed to purchase the Herkimer Bus Terminal, but after the New York Thruway diverted traffic away from his business, he changed gears and became a builder.
``I was in construction and my wife (Anne) operated Chet's Diner in Herkimer,'' he said.
He helped raise four children, built two houses on Canadarago Lake in Richfield, and for the most part, tuned out memories of war, including the Italian medal.
Then, several months ago, he bumped into Tex Seamon, Otsego County's veteran's councilor.
``Tex and I used to work at Sentinel Products (in Richfield) together. I didn't know he was the veteran's councilor, and as we were talking, I told him about the medal,'' he said.
Seamon gathered information, wrote letters, and with help of Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, arranged for Scerra to get his due.
``But he won't even let me see it,'' Scerra said. ``I said, `Come on, Tex,' but he said we'll do it on the Fourth of July.''
Seamon said Scerra's kind of sacrifice needs to be properly recognized: ``We're going to do it right.''
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