Theodore Antonelli – Major General, United States Army

From a contemporary press report

Teodore Antonelli, 73, a retired Army Major General who served in two wars and who was commandant of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, died of cardiac arrest November 19, 1993 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He had cancer.

General Antonelli, who lived in Alexandria, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He was commissioned in the infantry after graduating from University of Connecticut in 1941.

In World War II, he was a platoon leader and company commander in the First Infantry Division, and he was wounded in the North African campaign. When he recovered, he served in Italy and took part in the Salerno and Anzio landings.

In the postwar years, General Antonelli received a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University and graduated from the Command and General Staff College, the Army War College, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and the Army Transportation School.

His later career was in Army Transportation Corps. He served at bases in the US and in Korea, Germany and Greenland. He also was a veteran of the war in Vietnam. He had several assignments in Washington, DC, including director of distribution and transportation with the Army Materiel Command. He was commandant of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces when he retired in 1978.

His medals included two Silver Stars, two Distinguished Service Medals, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, three Army Commendation Medals and a Combat Infanttryman’s Badge.

In retirement, he was a consultant to government and industry in the field of logistics. He was a member of the board of directors and a vice president of the National Defense Executive Reserve and of the Society of the First Division, a director of the Association of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and a member of the Army Transportation Corps History Advisory Committee.

Survivors include his wife of 48 years, Margaret Smith Antonelli of Alexandria; a son, William M. Antonelli of Burke; two sisters, Gilda Antonelli of Albuquerque and Phyllis Pulos of Los Alamos, New Mexico; and two grandchildren.

January 6, 1920-November 19, 1993.

General Antonelli was buried with full military honors in Section 7-A of Arlington National Cemetery.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard