98-year-old veteran looks back on his World War II service

MINEVILLE, N.Y. (WCAX) – A World War II veteran in New York who’s almost 100 years old is telling his story this Memorial Day.

John Neggia, 98, remembers the frigid nights of fighting during World War II.

“If we had the chance to sleep in a cow barn, it was heaven. That’s how it was, it was so cold in these foxholes that your tears would come down your eyes, and you would be so cold, that the harder you chattered the warmer you kept,” said Neggia.

He spent Memorial Day with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5802 remembering the people he lost during gunfights.

Neggia was only 18 when he joined the army on April 5, 1944. He was part of the I Company, 1st platoon, 76th Infantry Division, and spent most of his time running from town to town capturing German soldiers, sleeping in holes and fighting for his life.

“Oh gosh, all I know is keep your head down, and don’t raise your head. It was war, one day after another,” said Neggia.

He says he spent one year, four months and 23 days fighting in Europe. He made it home on May 22, 1946. Shortly after, he got married and worked several plumbing jobs in New York.

The veteran wants people to remember Memorial Day is not a celebration.

Post 5802 says Neggia is the last World War II veteran to be a member there.

“It is very tough. I am so glad that people are talking to the World War II vets that are left because they are such a wealth of knowledge. That when they are gone, it’s over,” said Sue Nephew from Post 5802.

Neggia says he’s only begun talking about his wartime service in the last decade, but now knows it’s how those who didn’t make it home will never be forgotten.

“If you don’t tell them what you went through, they will never know,” he said.

Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.