Lt. Col. Fred H. Lippucci
Date:
July 27, 1916 - March 1, 2010
Obituary:
Lt. Col. Fred H. Lippucci, USAR Ret., died on March 1, 2010 at the age of 93 in Naples, FL. He will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA once arrangements are made.

Col. Lippucci, son of Mr. and Mrs. Domenico Lippucci, was born in Morgantown, W VA. After graduating from the Kentucky Military Institute in 1934, and from West Virginia University in 1939, he joined the U.S. Army. He first served with the 10th Infantry Regiment, 5th Division at St. Thomas, KY, and subsequently at Ft. McClellan, AL. In 1941 he was stationed with the Infantry School at Ft. Benning, GA, where he met and married his wife, Marion Maitland Kelley. In early 1943 he was ordered to Mateur, Tunisia and from there to Allied Forces Hq. in Algiers. During the invasion of Italy he served with the highly decorated "Red Bull" 34th Division of the Fifth Army at Salerno, becoming Operations Officer with the 135th Regiment during the action at Anzio. After a long succession of battles that drove the Germans all the way up the boot of Italy, then Major Lippucci was ordered to drive from town to town looking for information on the whereabouts of enemy troops trapped between the Fifth Army and the French and Swiss borders. In the process he was led to the headquarters of German and Italian units looking to surrender. Ultimately he negotiated and facilitated the surrender of 40,000 soldiers of the German 75th Corps, and 600-700 soldiers from the Italian Black Eagle Brigade. In addition to earning the Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star, he was awarded the Silver Star for risking his life to save three of his men while coordinating a combined tank and infantry attack that succeeded in driving back the enemy.

After the war he attended the Command and General Staff School at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, and was then assigned to Army Ground Forces Hq. at Ft. Monroe,VA. In 1947 he entered private business as a photographer in Morgantown, W VA. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War and joined the 2nd Army Headquarters at Ft. Meade, MD. From 1952 to 1956 he served at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy as Chief of the Army Plans Section of the Military Assistance and Advisory (MAAG) Group, whose mission was to help rebuild the Italian military. In 1957, following a Reserve Duty assignment in Lexington, KY, he went on to his last post in Seoul, Korea at KMAG Hq. In 1958 he joined the IBM Corporation to work on defense-related projects, living in both Alexandria and McLean, VA. In 1987 he retired to Naples, FLA.

Col. Lippucci is survived by his wife of 67 years, Marion, of Naples, FL; his daughter Alessandra Lippucci, of Austin, TX; his son Fred and his wife Donna, of Maine; his sister Mary L. Potesta, of W VA; his four grandchildren, John and Elisabeth Edwards of Austin, and Joseph, Andrea and her husband Todd, of CO; and his great grandson Logan, of CO.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 13, at 11:00 AM at St. John's Episcopal Church at 500 Park Shore Dr. in Naples, FLA. Contributions in his memory may be made to Avow Hospice, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, FL 34105.





Memorials:
Contributions in his memory may be made to Avow Hospice, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, FL 34105.

Cemetery:
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, VA (map/driving directions)
Services:
11:00AM at St. John's Episcopal Church on Saturday, March 13th, 2010 (map/driving directions)

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