Birthday was on Wednesday, but the family party will be on Sunday.
The former World War II combatant and son of Italian parents, Caetano Salvador Bissoli, from Navegantes, completed a century of life this week. After the world conflict, when he returned to Brazil, Mr. Caetano worked as a stevedore at the port of Itajaí.
The war hero's birthday was on Wednesday, but family and friends are preparing a party this Sunday.
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Bissoli experienced death up close as a soldier in the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) in Italy. As a member of the artillery, he was in the famous battle of Montesee, where he participated in the so-called Great Offensive, when Brazil distinguished itself in the conflict in 1945.
In this battle, Brazilian soldiers closed in on part of the German troops operating in northern Italy, until they cornered them in the municipality of Collechio, in the Parma region.
In this episode, the former combatant wielded a rifle as a soldier from the 6th Infantry Regiment of the FEB.
Caetano Salvador Bissoli was a combatant in the Second World War. (photo: reproduction)
From farmer to soldier
The century-old hero was born in Canelinha, a city in the interior of Santa Catarina, in 1918. He was a farmer and served in the army in Lapa, near Curitiba, in 1940. The following year he was discharged, but was called up in 1942 with Brazil's entry into the world conflict.
According to researcher Nahor Lopes de Souza, who covers the history of the soldiers in the region, the former combatant served in Florianópolis and trained in Rio de Janeiro before embarking for Italy.
He joined the second echelon of the FEB and embarked for Naples on September 22, 1944. When he returned to Brazil, as a hero, he did not return to Canelinha, but joined the stevedore, in the port of Itajaí.
Around 50 years ago he established himself in Navegantes.
Three years ago he was widowed by Dona Albertina Darossi, after a 68-year marriage. He had five children and currently lives with his daughter in the center of Navegantes.
The taking of Montese. (photo: Archive/FEB)
