Son of the 77th: Family recreates Soldier's foot march 75 years later

It's hard to say what Dominic Sciaretta might have expected from war.

By March, 1942, enlisting for service had become a social obligation for fit, able-bodied American men. The idea of conscription -- compulsory service to help fill vacancies in national defense -- was so

popular that the draft was in place more than a year before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

If you were a young man, you were going to serve your country in uniform. Whether or not you liked the idea was irrelevant.

In his later years, Sciaretta didn't talk about his experiences in the Army, said his son, Jim. His father served in the 77th Infantry Division, the "Statue of Liberty Brigade," which was reactivated 75 years ago for World War II. Dominic's training took him from his home in Bernardsville, New

Jersey, to Fort Jackson, then to Louisiana, California and Virginia for further instruction.

After that, the 77th Infantry Division left the mainland for Hawaii, where it was eventually dropped into the gaping maws of the Battle of Okinawa and Hacksaw Ridge.

"My dad died when I was only 24 years old," said Jim, 60, of Columbus, Ohio. "He never spoke of his experiences. So, the four boys and the one girl he had would always pepper him with stories of

the war. He never said a thing."

In his father's absence, Jim said he's struggled to understand his father's experiences in World War II. Research has been key, he said.

"Along the way, I came across the unit history of the 77th Division," he said. "It told their story right from the beginning, March 25, 1942, until March of 1946 when they were decommissioned in Japan."

Part of the unit's history involved a road march that took place at the end of Basic Combat Training on Fort Jackson, he said.

"They did it in August, in 100-degree heat while wearing 65 lbs packs," Jim said. "They had to march 25 miles in eight hours. I read that about 10 years ago, and I thought maybe I wanted to do it. Over the years I've been contemplating doing that walk to see how hard it would be, and to connect with my dad a little bit."

A few months ago, he realized that the 75th anniversary of his father's induction was approaching in

2017. He contacted Fort Jackson to see if he could get access to the installation, and for help in retracing the steps -- whenever possible -- of the original 1942 march.

"This is really a tribute to him, the men he served with and the men who died," he said. "It's a little bit of a challenge for me, but also an opportunity to connect with my father and where he was."

Last Saturday morning, beginning a few hours before dawn, Jim began that march, on the date of his father's arrival to post 75 years earlier. Accompanying him were his son, Chris, and daughter, Alex. Chris was behind the wheel of the chase vehicle, following his father along the 25-mile route. Accompanying him on the road were Alex and Staff Sgt. David Strelow, of the Garrison Sergeant

Major's Office.

If Fort Jackson had a less-urgent mission, there would likely have been a great many other uniformed Soldiers with them Saturday, Strelow said.

"If there were more permanent party units here, you'd probably have people going out with him," he said. "It would be like a parade. It's about remembering our values, our core, where we come from."

For Alex, the trip was about connecting with a relative she never knew.

"My (grandfather) died 10 or 15 years before I was even born, so I never had the opportunity to meet him," she said. "While growing up, though, Dad has been going through this exploration, so we always got the stories as he discovered new things. I feel like I did know him, in a way. He's vivid in my mind in a way that is necessarily common when its a grandparent that you never go

to meet in person."

In the end, Jim completed the 25-mile course in 7 hours, 30 minutes.

"I spent most of the time gabbing with Sgt. Strelow, sharing information with him aout the 77th and what they went through," Jim said. "And he told me about Army life now. Strelow treated me like my father. Sciaretta family hasn't set foot on Fort Jackson since 1943, and he treated me like one of the men."

The trip wasn't without its injuries, though. Thirteen miles into the march, Alex felt a sharp pain in her foot, he said.

"She finished the march, but suffered a stress fracture," Jim said. "She walked 12 miles on a stress fracture."