Sal was fiercely proud to be an American and equally proud to serve his country. During his time in the Army, he was stationed in Italy and North Africa with the 172nd Chemical Company, which laid down smoke screens for the ground troops. Sal was also an interpreter for the Army while in Italy, as he spoke fluent Italian.

Sal's children & grandchildren would listen with rapt attention as he told his "war" stories. He rarely shared the horrifying or gruesome details of the campaigns he was in; rather, he preferred to make us laugh with "PG" rated and funny stories, like the time he took his turn in the shower truck. This was a traveling truck and Sal's company often had to wait long stretches in between its visits. Papa Sal made all his grandchildren laugh when he told of coming out of the shower truck, freshly showered and in clean clothes, only to slip and fall into a huge mud puddle!

Salvatore J Barbo