By Brian Albrecht
RITTMAN, Ohio — Army Pfc. Liber Berardinelli wasn’t alone when he fought across France and Germany during World War II.
He had buddies to watch his back.
And the 85-year-old former infantryman from Euclid wasn’t alone Friday, when he was laid to rest at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman.
He may have died indigent, and there may not have been any family or friends to say goodbye at the funeral, but he had buddies there, too.
The first link in a chain of caring started with Michael Brown, assistant law director for the city of Euclid, whose duties include arranging for the burial or cremation of indigent residents.
He handles about a dozen such cases every year. But the one involving the April 5 death of Berardinelli brought back a rush of old memories.
Berardinelli had been his neighbor on Dille Road when Brown was growing up. Brown had cut the guy’s grass. Berardinelli’s wife, Bessie, made extra spaghetti sauce for the Brown kids. The Berardinellis attended all the graduations and first communions of the Browns. And the Browns went over to Berardinelli’s house every Christmas Eve.
“He was a really nice guy. Very friendly,” Brown recalled. “Just a down-to-earth guy.”
Sometimes the vet, who worked as a school crossing guard, would talk about the war. About landing on the D-Day beaches of Normandy where — as Brown said Berardinelli once put it — “your life expectancy was about 15 seconds.”
When Brown received notice of Berardinelli’s death and indigent status, he was unable to find any family members. So he decided to make sure the old soldier got a proper military burial.
“He was a good guy and he served our country, and he deserved to be treated like that,” he said.
Berardinelli actually had two brothers, Anthony, 82, of Cleveland Heights, and Joseph, 84, of Cleveland. But Anthony Berardinelli said Friday that he and Anthony had been estranged from Liber, at his insistence, since their high school days in Collinwood.
He was not aware that his older brother had died.
After confirming Berardinelli’s military history through the county Veterans Service Commission, Brown contacted the Corrigan Craciun Funeral Home to arrange for a casket, hearse and transportation.
Jim Craciun, a manager of the funeral home, said the Veterans Service Commission provides $995 toward the burial expenses of indigent veterans. The sum doesn’t cover the actual costs, he said, but “if you’re not doing this, you’re not doing what you should be doing in the community.
“Everybody’s helping out,” he added. “Us, this attorney (Brown), the people of Cuyahoga County, the cemetery. This guy’s going to get a beautiful service.”
Story Compliments Of The Plain Dealer
