Trupo Family
The Depression and WW II
Sgt. Anthony Trupo, December 1943
When the Depression came and Pop could not find work, Mary had to leave business school after completing one year to find a job to help support the family. I think she was about 16 or 17 when she went to work, as did Tony.
During the Depression jobs were hard to come by. People were working for 25 cents an hour, and there were huge bread lines. But Roosevelt put in a lot of work programs.
Pop worked for the WPA – they took care and fixed all the public buildings. Tony went to CCC camp – they worked in state and federal parks – earning one dollar per day. Mary was in a program for women, learning various things. I was still in school, as was Pat.
Then came Pearl Harbor, and World War II. Tony was drafted into the Army – 165th infantry division. Had a few months training and sent to the South Pacific. He was in about two years when he was shot and wounded on one of the islands. Doctors thought gangrene was setting in and they might have to amputate one of his legs. But an Army doctor intervened and promised Tony he would save his leg.
Pat, Tony and Mary, 1944
He was sent to a hospital in Hawaii after the doctor operated. He was in Hawaii about one year, then released and sent home with an honorable discharge, a purple heart, and he received a disability payment.
When the war was over he took a civil service exam and got a job working for the federal government in Washington. He worked for the treasury department – part of the Secret Service – until he retired. Tony lived in Virginia and worked in Washington. He died in 1990.