Anthony Joseph Cipriano
PFC in 603rd Engineer Camouflage Bn : Co D, HQ Platoon
ASN#33313644
Born 1915 in PA, Died 2010
Artist
County of enlistment: Philadelphia, PA
Other residence(s): Philadelphia, PA in 1942; Westmount, P.O. Canada in 1998; Rego Park, NY
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: commercial artists
Anthony Cipriano was born on July 23, 1915 in Philadelphia, PA, the youngest of five children. When he registered for the draft, on October 16, 1940, he indicated that he was a commercial artist, and was working for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He enlisted on May 16, 1942; his enlistment forms state that he had two years of high school, and was working as a commercial artist. Like other New York and Philadelphia artists, he found himself in the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion, and served in Europe with the unit.
He was discharged on October 24, 1945 with the rank of T/5.
On September 30, 1947 he married Virginia T. Koppie, a registered nurse, in Manhattan. He must have found work as a commercial artist in New York by that time, since the 1950 census shows the couple living in Rego Park, NY (a neighborhood of Queens) and Anthony working in advertising art.
The couple sailed to London on April 14, 1951 for a two-month stay in Europe; possibly this trip was like those that other artists from the Ghost Army took to further their art education. Anthony and Virginia returned at the end of June.
Sadly, nothing else is known of his life or work.
He died on February 4, 2010.
Sources:
1940 draft card
1942 enlistment record
1947 marriage license index
1950 Pennsylvania US Veteran Compensation File
1950 census
1950-1993 US Public Records Index
1951 shipboard manifest (NYC to Southampton)
1951 UK & Ireland incoming passenger list
1951 shipboard manifest (Cobh, Ireland to NYC)
2010 Social Security death index