Michael Colalillo (December 2, 1925 – December 30, 2011) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decorationthe

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for his actions during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early life

Colalillo was born on December 1, 1925, in

Hibbing Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range and still relies on that industrial activity today. At th ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

parents who had immigrated to the U.S. shortly before his birth. Colalillo was the eighth of nine children. His family struggled financially through out the years mainly due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. He grew up in a tough neighborhood in western

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, Minnesota. In his teenage years, Colalillo attended

Denfeld High School Duluth Denfeld High School, also known as Denfeld High School, is one of two high schools in Duluth, Minnesota along with Duluth East as of 2011 after the closure of Duluth Central and the previous closing of Morgan Park HS in 1982. Serving over ...

but dropped out before graduating in order to help support his family by working at a local

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who ...

after the passing of his mother.

Military service

Colalillo joined the Army from

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

in February 1944, and was serving as a

private first class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ) ...

in Company C, 398th Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Division, that was deployed in the

Western Allied invasion of Germany The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Allies of World War II, Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II, European theatre of World War II. In preparation for the Allied ...

. On April 7, 1945, his unit fought

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

forces in the

Battle of Buchhof and Stein am Kocher The Battle of Buchhof and Stein am Kocher was a seven-day battle fought between the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen and 253rd Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division, First Battalion, 398th Infantry Regiment, 100th Inf ...

near Untergriesheim,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Colalillo encouraged his comrades to follow him into enemy fire, manned an exposed

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

, and helped a wounded soldier back to friendly lines. For his actions during the battle, he was awarded the Medal of Honor on January 9, 1946.

Post military service

After his discharge from the Army, Colalillo moved back to

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, Minnesota, where he married Lina Nissila on November 16, 1945. The couple had two daughters and a son. In 1946, Colalillo was employed by the Interlake Iron Company as a coal dump laborer and in 1950 he suffered a serious injury when his hand was caught on a

conveyor belt A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to ...

which caused permanent damage, making his hand nearly useless. After his injury, Colalillo worked as a

longshoreman A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...

, and in 1987, he retired from the Duluth Port Authority.

Death

Colalillo died on December 30, 2011, at the Ecumen Bayshore Care Center. He is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Duluth, Minnesota. He was Minnesota's last living

recipient.

Medal of Honor

Awards and decorations

SGT Colalillo was awarded through out his military career the following:

Gallary

File:Mike Colalillo Citation.jpg, Citation File:Mike Colalillo Memorial Pic.jpg, President Truman presenting award File:Mike Colalillo Wall brick.jpg, Mike Colalillo Brick File:MikeColalilloDrive.jpg, Mike Colalillo Drive Duluth, Mn File:Mike Colalillo Brick.jpg, Duluth Memorial

References

External links

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Home of Heroes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colalillo, Mike 1925 births 2011 deaths People from Hibbing, Minnesota United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army soldiers World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor