Correspondent photo / Sean Barron Staff Sgt. Joseph R. Calabria proudly holds a photograph taken in 1969 of him receiving the Silver Star with valor. On the Austintown veteran’s cap are two Purple Hearts he also was awarded during his time in the military.

AUSTINTOWN — When it comes to discussing tokens they were awarded for their military service, some veterans are stoic, while others display their emotions on their sleeve.

Still others, such as Staff Sgt. Joseph R. Calabria, display their awards on their walls.

“Getting the Silver Star was a highlight and my proudest moment,” Calabria, 81, said, while reflecting on his long military career that began when he was a Wilson High School student.

Walls to the living room in his Austintown home are filled with honors, citations and awards for conduct during his 17 years in the military that began in 1956 — two years in the U.S. Army and about 15 in the Marine Corps. Besides the Silver Star Award with Valor, they include three Purple Hearts, four Good Conduct medals, a Combat Action badge, a unit citation and an Expert Rifle and Pistol citation.

Calabria, who desired to serve his country since he was 12, recalled signing up to join the military at age 16, when the recruiter thought he was a year older.

He entered airborne school at Fort Bragg, N.C., then received basic training at Parris Island, S.C., before joining the 82nd Airborne for a year. Calabria was soon sent to Germany as part of the 11th Airborne Division, which was deactivated in 1958.

“To me, it was an adventure,” the longtime decorated veteran said about his time in the Army from 1956 to 1958.

After enlisting in the Marine Corps, Calabria saw combat in the Vietnam War as an engineer equipment foreman with the 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. His main duties were clearing fields of fire near Marine positions in Con Thien in Quang Tri Province. He also served as part of a reaction platoon with fellow engineer equipment operators, mechanics and other related personnel.

In October, Calabria was handed the Silver Star during the Ohio Military Hall of Fame’s 21st annual induction ceremony in Austintown.

The award was for actions he took May 8, 1967, in which two reinforced battalions of North Vietnamese Army soldiers surrounded him and about 300 others while overrunning several positions, resulting in numerous casualties during a night attack on Con Thien.

“I was lying there, bullets flying in the bunker,” Calabria recalled.

Nevertheless, he learned that the enemy occupied a bunker in the perimeter before he ran across an airstrip, established a base of fire and single-handedly used hand grenades to assault the bunker as North Vietnamese soldiers tossed satchel charges at him. They exploded near Calabria’s face, knocking him to the ground and seriously damaging his eardrums, resulting in hearing loss.

Despite his injury, Calabria kept up the assault, killing six enemy soldiers and recapturing the bunker.

After that, Calabria became aware of the desperate need for additional ammunition, so, despite intense hostile fire, he moved to a disabled tank, removed the ammunition and gave it to the Marines.

After the assault, Calabria helped clear enemy positions outside the perimeter, which came under intense small-arms fire, and he moved to a position in which he killed an additional six enemy soldiers with hand grenades.

Another proud moment for Calabria came shortly after he enlisted in the Army and received his jump wings, also known as a Parachutist Badge. The badge is awarded to military personnel who complete the U.S. Army Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Ga., and signifies the soldier is a trained military parachutist.

After being given a retirement certificate and re-entering civilian life in 1973, Calabria worked for Republic Steel’s Brier Hill Works, then two years for the city of Youngstown in the maintenance department.

Calabria also worked in law enforcement, which entailed serving several years as a police officer with the Youngstown State University Police Department and several more as an officer with the department at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.

In addition, Calabria worked about three years for the former Corrections Corporation of America private prison (now the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown). The longtime veteran also worked several years as a security guard.

Despite the hardships and injuries he’s endured, Calabria said he was determined to continue to fight for his country.

“I never, ever gave up,” he added.

Joseph Calabria

AGE: 81

RESIDENCE: Austintown

SERVICE BRANCH: U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army

MILITARY HONORS: Silver Star, three Purple Hearts, four Good Conduct medals and several proclamations

FAMILY: Wife, Irene; children, Joshua and Brandy; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild

OCCUPATION: Retired as a police officer and security guard

To nominate a veteran, email Marly Reichert at mreichert@tribtoday.com