Fallen hero returns to Revere

REVERE – Charlie DiSciscio watched firefighters salute the hearse carrying Nelson Rodriguez Ramirez’ body down Broadway Friday and thought about the life of another young man cut short by war.The man was DiSciscio’s brother, George, who was killed on Jan. 22, 1944, five days after Allied troops launched what would become a five-month campaign to push through German defenses on to Rome.DiSciscio’s body arrived home in East Boston the same day his neighbor’s body returned home from another sector of the war. The two grieving mothers decided to combine the funerals. The sons of Eastie were waked at the Progressive Club laid out side by side.”When my mother received the telegram, it killed her. I really miss that guy,” said George DiSciscio’s brother.Charlie DiSciscio knows about war, not just from living through his brother’s death but from fighting in Korea from 1952 to 1954. He served with the 40th Infantry Division and remembers driving back waves of Chinese attackers.Like DiSciscio’s unit, the reconnaissance squadron Rodriguez Ramirez served in was drawn from National Guard ranks. Five members of 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry came from Buffalo Friday to salute their fallen comrade.Mirna Rodriguez came from Virginia to remember her nephew and reflect on serving her country. She spent 22 years in the Army, including deployments to Panama and Operation Desert Storm. She left the military in 2001 with the rank of first sergeant and returned as a civilian to work for the Army.She recalled talking with her nephew about military life and about the sacrifice it required.”I told him it was great to serve but that sometimes we have to give more.”She will join Charlie DiSciscio today in saluting Nelson Rodriguez Ramirez and the ultimate sacrifice he made along with three other soldiers killed in a roadside bomb blast last Saturday in Afghanistan.