NUTLEY SONS HONOR ROLL

Remembering the men who paid for our freedom

Nutley, New Jersey

About Anthony Buccino

Anthony Buccino researched the unsung and long forgotten heroes of earlier generations from his present and former hometowns. His latest project – the Nutley Sons and Belleville Sons honor rolls – preserves for future generations of two towns the stories of 347 young men who paid for our freedom with their lives.

Buccino has collected the stories of 138 Nutley sons and 209 Belleville sons who perished while in service to the United States during the American Revolution, Civil War, Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and as peacekeepers preventing war.

With the research help of his daughter Andrea, the stories of the men were collected, edited and cross-referenced with newspaper accounts, Freedom of Information Act documents and veterans groups accounts.

The four-year research project resulted in a searchable Internet web site recording the stories of the young men from both towns. With his own money, he published paperback editions of the collected biographies.

Suddenly, with the publication of the Honor Roll tales, the stories, untold and forgotten for 40, 60, and nearly 100 years were suddenly being talked about in Veterans clubs, middle school auditoriums and home libraries.

Buccino heard from widows, sisters, brothers, children, nieces and nephews of fallen soldiers who thanked him after they found their long lost loved one’s tale retold with a fresh breath. They expressed comfort that their loved ones were not forgotten.

In the spring 2005, a new peacetime casualties memorial in Nutley was dedicated to Nutley casualties who, it was realized through this research, were not listed on any of the town’s 16 war memorials. Buccino worked with the mayor, veterans groups, and other sponsors to finance the long overdue memorial.

The research effort was recognized by Buccino was named the recipient of the UNICO National 2005 Grand Order Filippo Mazzei William Paca Americanism Award.

UNICO, the largest Italian-American service organization in the United States, said the Americanism Award Committee selected Buccino for his noteworthy efforts in “researching historical facts and contributions of the many unsung heroes who have given their lives for our country.”

This prestigious award is named in honor of Philip Mazzei, an Italian and confidant of Thomas Jefferson, whose ideas and philosophies were instrumental in the formation of the most fundamental principles of our great nation.

The William Paca Award is presented in recognition of historical research and in recognition of the contributions of the many unsung heroes whose lives were expended in making our country the beacon of freedom in the world today.

Anthony’s work with the Nutley Historical Society led to his being named their web master. He created and maintains the society’s Internet presence for Nutley’s history archives and museum activities. He also created and maintains web sites for Van Riper Restoration Trust and the Kingsland Manor.

In 1996, Buccino received the Society of Professional Journalists award for editorial writing. In 2011, he received an SPJ award for online writing.

In 2001, Buccino received the Mille Grazie Award for his support of the Belleville Chapter of UNICO National, The Anti-Bias Committee of UNICO National and the Italian American One Voice Coalition.

In the past 40 years, Anthony Buccino has published essays about life and growing up in northern New Jersey. He has written about his immigrant grandparents and their long-ago farm in what is now suburbia, the toils of their simple life and the lives of their grandchildren. He has written encouragement to preserve family histories while sharing his own tales with humor and sensitivity.

Buccino's books include three essays collections: Rambling Round – Inside & Outside at the Same Time – Life & Growing Up In North Jersey, in 2004; A Father's Place, An Eclectic Collection, in 1991, and Sister Dressed Me Funny, in 1996. A volume of poetry, Days You Knew Me, was published in 1976. He continues to publish his poetry.

He has been published in New Jersey Monthly, the Wall Street Journal, the Passaic Herald-News, the Italian Tribune News, and other publications.

In the 1970s he wrote reviews and essays for area newspapers, including The Belleville Times and The Independent Press of Bloomfield. From 1989 to 1990, he was editor of The Belleville Times, sister paper to The Nutley Sun where much information for the Nutley Sons Honor Roll was later gathered.

From 1996 to 1998, he was managing editor at Worrall Community Newspapers, where he oversaw the Nutley Journal and Belleville Post and two other newspapers.

The author attended Montclair State College where he was an English major and Journalism minor. Buccino, a business news editor, writer and web manager, has also worked at two trade associations and one trade magazine.

Nutley Sons Honor Roll blog