Kenneth Joseph Calligaro

Lieutenant Kenneth Joseph Calligaro joined the US Army on Jan. 18, 1943. Calligaro was a member of the ROTC and Scabbard and Blade groups while at UW-Madison. Since he was in ROTC, he was commissioned as soon as he entered the Army in January 1943. Lieutenant Calligaro was assigned to HQ Company, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division and deployed to France during the Normandy Campaign in the summer 1944. Calligaro made nationwide news when he helped negotiate a POW exchange at Caumont, France on July 9, 1944. Eight German nurses were captured by American forces near Cherbourg. Lieutenant Calligaro and a chaplain, acting as an interpreter, fashioned a white flag and marched towards German lines to negotiate the exchange. They were blindfolded until a German officer was brought before them. Calligaro explained the situation and the German officer agreed. The nurses were brought back to German lines and Calligaro and his interpreter returned to American lines unscathed. Sadly, Lieutenant Calligaro was killed in action only a month later on Aug. 3, 1944, in France. He is buried at the Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His name is erroneously listed as Kenneth "Calligar" on his headstone and "Calligan" in some news articles.