Skip to main content

Adolph Francis "Ralph" Maglio

PFC in 23rd Headquarters Co

Military occupational specialty: 521 (basic, administration)

ASN#31087066

Born 1916 in MA, Died 2012

Artist

County of residence at enlistment: Suffolk County, MA
Other residence(s): East Boston, MA; South Boston, MA
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: actors and actresses?
College education before the war: Boston College 4 years
Notes: birth name Adolfo Angenio Maglio
Source: Unit Shipment 10143-A, 23d HQ, from le Havre 23 June 1945; photo from 1939 Boston College yearbook; militaryyearbookproject.org/references/old-mos-codes/wwii-era/army...

Ralph Maglio was born "Adolfo Angenio Maglio" on August 1, 1916 in Boston, MA, the youngest of eight children. His father was a laborer for a contractor, and both of his parents had been born in Italy.

From 1937-1939, Ralph studied at Boston College, graduating with a degree in classics and/or philosophy in 1939. (He had transferred to BC as a junior.) When he registered for the draft, on October 16, 1940, he gave his name as "Adolph Francis Maglio", but a handwritten note on the back of his draft card says: "registrant uncertain of legality of first name."

He enlisted on March 23, 1942, was assigned to the 23rd Headquarters Company, and served with the unit in Europe during the war. He was discharged from the Army with the rank of PFC and returned to Boston.

Little else is known of his life and/or work. He was living in East Boston in the late 1990s, and in South Boston prior to his death. He died on July 4, 2012.

Photos

1939 Boston College yearbook (see link below)

Sources:

1916 birth record

https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/36521970/person/300164386311/media/63567f28-0d2d-424b-a486-7cfbe47268db?_phsrc=aLq29&usePUBJs=true

1920 census

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/39576019:6061?tid=&pid=&queryId=0d4e9d3f2d9f9510b720e5e76e582d50&_phsrc=Eqo30&_phstart=successSource

1930 census

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/837285:6224?tid=&pid=&queryId=0d4e9d3f2d9f9510b720e5e76e582d50&_phsrc=Eqo32&_phstart=successSource

1939 Boston College yearbook (contains 14 Dacia St. address)

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/253770925:1265?tid=&pid=&queryId=8b95d46c8e85c0eb9820fdb5c071d6ac&_phsrc=Eqo28&_phstart=successSource

1940 draft card

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/195870690:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=6762da0c0e7ca3e320e034cd632ea3a7&_phsrc=Eqo1&_phstart=successSource

1942 enlistment record

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=8939&h=7220922&tid=&pid=&queryId=6b1523ac2d20d903d52200f4d84a55e3&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Eqo3&_phstart=successSource

1956 mother's death notice in the Boston Globe (14 Dacia St. address confirms that Adolph used “Ralph” as his first name)

https://www.newspapers.com/image/433653549/?article=59de5462-8a06-44aa-8442-3400c09a954a&focus=0.2435032,0.28833535,0.36027533,0.3259303&xid=3355&_ga=2.239223812.600155408.1636143501-2136947627.1636143501

2011 BC Alumni Magazine class notes

https://issuu.com/bcua/docs/bcm_summer_2011/6

2012 Social Security death index

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=3693&h=92434397&tid=&pid=&queryId=67cbab3ba3cd7989e264e6a855fcf812&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Eqo6&_phstart=successSource

Please Support Our Ongoing Efforts

The soldiers of The Ghost Army used inflatable tanks, sound effects, and imagination to fool the Germans on the battlefields of Europe. The Ghost Army Legacy Project is ensuring that these men and their accomplishments are never forgotten.

Give via credit card by clicking the yellow “Donate” button.

Or, send a check to:

Ghost Army Legacy Project
1305 S. Michigan Ave. #1104
Chicago, IL 60605

All donations are tax-deductible!