PFC Alfred Joseph "Joe" Caprara Sr. was born in Pensacola on December 10, 1913, the son of Nazzarrana Caprara (1886-1925) and Michelina (aka Madeline) DeLillo (1890-1960). His parents were married in Manhattan in 1911, ten years after Michelina immigrated to America in 1901. After their marriage, Nazzarrana supported his family as a dry dock engineer. After relocation to Pensacola in 1910, Nazzarrana would pass away in 1925 leaving Michelina a widow with three young boys. However, she would remarry to a shoe repairman by the name of John Flo (1877), but by 1940 she was widowed again.
As for Alfred, he would join the work force in Pensacola in 1930 as an automobile painter with his brother Louis while living with his family at 209 South Devilliers Street. On April 22, 1934, he married Daisy Leona Nork (1909-2002), who lived with her family several blocks away at 145 Zarragossa Street. The couple took up residence at 500 West Romana Street while Alfred continued painting autos for Watts J. Pierce. In 1938, he and Daisy lost their first child, Dorothy Leona as an infant. The following year, the couple rented a house at 207 South Devilliers Street while Alfred took his painting skills to a new job at the Naval Air Station.
Then came the war that required Alfred's service in the military. He enlisted on March 22, 1944 and was sent to the induction and processing center at Ft. McPherson, Atlanta, Georgia. His kissed his wife and new son Alfred Jr. goodbye and left home to do his duty. After basic training, he was sent overseas in September 1944 to a replacement center. There, the command sent them to whatever unit needed extra bodies. His card came up and he was sent to the 313th Infantry Regiment of the 79th Infantry Division that was located in France.
Then on December 16th, the Germans launched their last-ditch attack that became known as the "Battle of the Bulge." Driving into the unsuspecting Americans, the enemy tried desperately to break through and split the Allies forces. The ferocity of the attack placed the US troops on the defensive, as all available troops were rushed northward to stop the breakthrough. The 79th Division withdrew on December 22nd to the high ground south of the Lauter River, located halfway between the Maginot and the Siegfried Lines. They worked day and night building entrenchments and interlocking fields of machine gun fire. Nearby was the picturesque village of Oberseebach (Alsace Region, France), approximately three kilometers behind the front lines. But the Germans were apparently content to enjoy the Christmas season therefore remained quiet.
After Christmas, the regiment began moving to a position south of the ridge overlooking Saegbuhl. There, they attacked the German rear, driving them into the town. On January 5th, the enemy began to infiltrate around the regiment's right flank, crossing the Rottbach road and moving to the wooded area south of Picardie. This road was the main supply road for Alfred's 313th Regiment, and if it were cut the troops were in trouble. But there was another road that ran from Rottbach to Picardie, but it was mined with trees felled across it by the Germans. Work was started on this road immediately, while a platoon plus five tanks were sent to protect the other one. This action was taken none too soon because the Germans to their front began attacking. Each of these were repelled by calling down American artillery fire on their own positions. Some of the enemy managed to reach the rear areas of the battalion, so as to force the mortar crews to defend themselves against small-arms fire. It was in this fighting that PFC Alfred Joseph Caprara from Pensacola was killed in action on January 5, 1945. Whether from enemy artillery or friendly fire will probably never be know, but Alfred was hit with shrapnel that tore through his abdomen and killed him. His body was removed during a lull in the fighting and sent to the rear for processing. He was buried in the American Military Cemetery in Garches, France where he rests peacefully today.
Daisy and Alfred Jr. were notified by the War Department that her husband had been killed in action and buried in France. She was told that he would be brought home after the war at the government's expense is she so wished.
Ironically, Alfred was the third Pensacolian to die from the 313th Infantry Regiment. C. J. Wallenfelsz had died from non-battle wounds or injuries on August 26, 1944 while Edward Lee Pierce had been killed in action during the same fighting as Alfred on December 29, 1944. Six weeks later, Olen D. Manning was killed in action on February 15, 1944.
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