DOB/DOD: February 6, 1926 (Norwalk, CT) – July 25, 2014 (Norwalk, CT); 88 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Florence Esposito (1924-1970) on January 14, 1950, in Westport, Connecticut.
CHILDREN: One daughter, Susan Iannacone Halpern (1951-2020). One son, Robert M. (1954-).
ENLISTMENT: May 10, 1944
SERVICE NUMBER: 31466952
DISCHARGE: Unknown
UNIT: 317th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division
FAMILY: Born to Sebastiano “Samuel” (1889-1945) and Gesomina “Minnie” Iannacone (1899-1939), both born in Italy. Five sisters, Antoinette Iannacone D’Andria Coppola (1917-1996), Amelia “Millie” Iannacone Gisolfi (1918-2006), Rose “Rosie” Iannacone Letizia (1923-2000), Eleanore Iannacone Delallo (1929-2017), and Mary T. (1931-1994). One brother, Alexander, (1920-1999).
DECORATIONS: Two-time recipient of the Purple Heart Medal. Wounded on January 9, 1945, and again on January 24, 1945.
Photo contributed by son Bob Iannacone
Image of telegram contributed by son Bob Iannacone
From The Norwalk Hour April 29, 1987
SPORTSMEN OF WESTPORT SELECT 5 MORE HONOREES
…excerpt
Iannacone has been one of the hard workers in the Westport Police Athletic League for the past 25 years. He started his athletic career as a youth in Norwalk at Ben Franklin Junior High, where he played baseball, basketball, and soccer. He was also active in Rec Commission-sponsored sports. He was an outstanding performer in football, baseball, and basketball for the Laurel AC of Norwalk in the 1940s and 50’s. He also played with the Celtics in county action and with Automatic Signal in the Industrial League. Innacone joined the Westport PAL in 1975, helping to coach the football team. He later worked 10 organize and coach the junior Babe Ruth baseball program and was a founder of the senior Babe Ruth League. He has served as a trustee of the PAL and as President of Postal Union 147 in Norwalk. He retired from the Post Office in 1970 after a back injury. In 1950, he married the late Florence Esposito. They had two children. He resides at 1 Locust Lane, Saugatuck.
From The Norwalk Hour October 21, 2005
MITCHELL, IANNACONE AMONG EIGHT OLD-TIMERS NOMINEES
…excerpt
“Buck” Iannacone, who turned 79 this past February, has been involved in local sports for most of those years. He played for a number of neighborhood teams during his early childhood days and later played soccer at Ben Franklin Junior High School in 1938 and ’39. But Iannacone would never get the chance to play sports at Norwalk High School. One of six children in his family, Iannacone, was drafted into the United States Army while still a junior at NHS. He would serve his country for two years, including time in the Battle of the Bulge. His wartime travels also took him to England, where he was awarded the Purple Heart. Iannacone eventually received a military medical discharge and immediately joined the United States Postal Service. He would enjoy a 20-year career there, including 10 years in which he served as president of the Norwalk Local Postal Union. He remains on the Board of Trustees as a volunteer. It was also during this time that Iannacone got back involved in sports. During the 1940s and ‘50s, he played center for the Celtics in the Norwalk Recreation Basketball League, outfield for a number of local independent baseball teams, including the Norwalk Lock and the Laurels, and center and linebacker for the Laurels football team.” It was through his association with the Laurel AC football team that Iannacone got invited to play in a charity bowl game in St. Petersburg, Fla., in 1947. During a visit to the Sunshine State, Iannacone, 21 at the time, ran into a newspaper reporter from the St. Petersburg Times who noticed his shirt and his size. When he found out Iannacone played football, he arranged for him to play in an upcoming charity game between a team of college all-stars and Tampa all-stars. In fact, Iannacone started at defensive guard, and when the the starting center got hurt on the first play of the game, Iannacone replaced him and ended up playing the whole game both ways in a 0-0 tie. Upon returning home, Iannacone got back involved in sports as a softball umpire in the late 1950s and early 1960s. But his greatest contribution to athletics came after he moved to Westport and became active with the Westport PAL as a coach. He’s been a part of the local organization and a tireless volunteer for half a century, raising funds for athletic scholarships and a strong supporter of sports at Staples High School.
From the Norwalk Hour July 28, 2014
Alphonse “Buck” Iannacone, 88, of Westport, Connecticut, husband of the late Florence Esposito Iannacone, passed away Friday, July 25th, in Norwalk Hospital. Mr. Iannacone was born February 6, 1926, in Norwalk, CT, son of the late Sebastian and Gesomina Iannacone, and has been a resident of Westport for the past sixty-one years. Prior to retiring in 1971, Buck worked for the U.S. Postal Service for twenty years, including ten years as president of the Norwalk Local Postal Union. In May of 1944, prior to graduation, Buck left Norwalk High School and enlisted in the Army. He proudly served his country during World War II, fighting in the European African Middle Eastern Theatre and receiving a ribbon with one Bronze Battle Star, as well as fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. While in England a short time later, he was wounded in combat and awarded the Purple Heart. Buck, a member of Westport’s Joseph J. Clinton VFW Post #399, received a military medical discharge. Fifty-six years later, in 2001, he and five other World War II veterans donned their caps and gowns and walked across the stage to receive the high school diploma they never thought they would see. In 2005, Buck was honored by the Norwalk Old Timers Athletic Association and received the annual Sportsmen Award. In 2009, he served as the Grand Marshal for the Festival Italiano. In 2010, the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance presented Buck with the John Wentworth Good Sport Award for his unselfish dedication to local sports. In 2012, he served as the Grand Marshal for the Westport Memorial Day parade. Buck was also a member of Saugatuck Hose Co. #4 Volunteer Fire Department, Norwalk Laurel Athletic Club, and a volunteer for countless number of organizations, including the Special Olympics and Star. Of the many accolades he received and of all the organizations he was involved with, the one closest to Buck’s heart was the Westport PAL. He first joined in 1953 as a football coach, and sixty-one years later, as their oldest active member, he has done just about everything else since then. Traveling to Denver, CO, in 2008, he was honored and received the prestigious National PAL Award for his many years of volunteerism. Survivors include his son, Robert (and Kim) Iannacone of Westport, CT; his daughter, Susan Halpern of Myrtle Beach, SC; his sister, Eleanor DeLallo of Norwalk, CT; his five grandchildren, Lee (and Laura) Halpern, Stacey (and Nate) Clemens, Mark (and Shannon) Halpern, Kellie and Zachary Iannacone, and four great-grandchildren, Jaxon, Luciano, MJ, and Brinley Halpern. He was predeceased by his brother, Alexander Iannacone; four sisters, Antoinette Coppola, Millie Gisolfi, Rosie Letizia, and Mary Iannacone; and son-in-law, Barry Halpern. Services will take place on Wednesday at 9:30 AM at the Harding Funeral Home, 210 Post Road East, Westport, and at 10:00 AM at Assumption Church, 98 Riverside Avenue, Westport, for a Mass of Christian Burial. Interment with full Military Honors will follow at Assumption Cemetery, Kings Highway North, Westport, CT. Friends may visit the family on Tuesday from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at Harding Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Westport PAL Scholarship Fund In Memory of Buck Iannacone. Checks can be mailed to Westport PAL c/o Sam Arciola, 50 Jesup Road, Westport, CT 06880. To leave an online condolence, please visit http://www.hardingfuneral.com.
Buried in Old Assumption Cemetery, 86 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut. Photo from FindAGrave.com.
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