Philip B. Piazza

Philip B. Piazza
Six Mile, SC

Philip Benjamin Piazza, 94, of 102 Breckinridge Court, founder of the Merrill�??s Marauders Association, died from congestive heart failure on Sunday, May 29, 2011 surrounded by his family at the home of his daughter, Linda Hoover, in Six Mile, SC.

Born in Bridgeport, CT, he was a son of the late Enrico and Carmella Duino Piazza. Philip graduated from Bridgeport High School in 1935 and in March 1941 enlisted in the US Army beginning a very interesting military experience. In 1942 Philip entered Officer�??s Candidate School and upon completion was commissioned a 2nd Lt and was sent to Trinidad, British West Indies where he taught at the Jungle Warfare School. In 1943 he volunteered for "A Dangerous and Hazardous Mission," which would become the famed Merrill�??s Marauders (5307th Composite Unit Provisional). As part of that elite team, he traveled by rail into India and hiked over the mountains into Burma and saw continuous combat in the China-Burma-India Theater as the heavy weapons commander of the Second Battalion Blue Combat Team. He was wounded in action at Inkangahtawng, Burma. Philip Piazza suffered a wound that required he be evacuated from the field, a risky maneuver in the dense jungle. His mother received three telegrams about his status; in the first, he was reported killed in action, in the second he was only missing, and the third got it right. He was awarded two purple hearts, a Bronze Star and a Unit Citation. He spent 18 months in the hospital and then returned to active duty as an Instructor at Camp Blanding in Stark, FL, where he was told to "find the highest mountain in Florida and build a Japanese Village" to teach the soldiers infiltration techniques. In 1945 he separated from the military with the rank of Captain. Philip became president of the Merrill�??s Marauders Association, which has held annual meetings for over 50 years after the war.

He married his wife of 63 years, Emma Jane Aitcheson Fraser, in 1948 and lived in Devon, CT where he opened his own retail/wholesale business. In 1956 he moved his home and business to Stratford, CT where he was active in civic affairs such as the YMCA, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Barnum Festival Committee and Stratford Rotary Club which he served as President for 2 years. He retired to Clemson in 1981 and became an active member of the US Army Ranger Hall of Fame, US Army Ranger Monument Committee, Patriots Hall, Retired Military Officer�??s Association, Clemson Corps, Oconee County Veterans Council, DAV, American Legion and Clemson Rotary Club where he was named a Paul Harris Fellow. In 1995 he was inducted into the US Army Ranger Hall of Fame.

Surviving in addition to his wife are three daughters, Sandra Jane Piazza of Clemson, SC, Carol Ann Miller and husband, Hugh H. Miller of Fairplay, SC, and Linda Susan Hoover and husband, Donald Lee Hoover of Six Mile, SC; grandchildren Heath Henderson Miller, Heather Lynn Masters and Casey Leigh Masters; great-grandchildren Skylar Masters, Elizabeth Yuill, Austin Yuill, Dylan Smith, Bryce Blakeley and Aubrey Hedlund; nieces and nephews, Robert Farrell, Matthew Piazza, Gail Piazza and Richard Shillea.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at Clemson United Methodist Church with burial to follow in the M. J. "Dolly" Cooper Veterans Cemetery in Anderson, SC.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 PM, Wednesday, at Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home.

The family is at the home.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the US Army Ranger Memorial Foundation Scholarship Fund, at www.rangermemorial.org or by mail, PO Box 53369, Fort Benning, GA 31995-3369. Specify in memory of Phil Piazza.

Condolences may be expressed online at www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com or at Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home, 108 Cross Creek Road, Central, SC 29630.