Sailor returns home after 80 years

A Nutley sailor returned home this summer, nearly 80 years after he died in the service of his country.

People gathered at the World War II Memorial to pay their respects to the fallen Nutley resident, Ordnanceman First Class Anthony Di Petta, whose remains were recovered decades after he was killed in a World War II air strike.

Following a private service on July 11, supporters accompanied Di Petta’s funeral procession, honoring the Di Petta family and the memory of the fallen sailor who sacrificed his life.

“We welcomed home one of our Nutley sons who has been gone for over 79 years,” said Mayor Joseph Scarpelli. “The community was there to console his family and we thank Anthony Di Petta for his service and for making the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms.”

“The whole town came together to welcome a hero home and send him to his final resting place, the correct way,” said Commissioner John V. Kelly, III. “I think of the quote from George S. Patton: ‘It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.’ I think that is true here. We are all honored that he called Nutley home and that he laid down his life for friends, family and his country. We are honored he was a part of Nutley. Even though it’s almost 80 years later, we hope that his return home can bring some comfort to his family.”

On Sept. 10, 1944, 24-year-old Di Petta, along with two other crew members, boarded their Avenger torpedo/bomber, taking off from the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier to conduct air strikes against enemy targets.

Their aircraft was struck by enemy fire and crashed in the waters near Malakal Island, located in the Pacific Ocean about 800 miles southwest of Guam. Recovery efforts were halted in the summer of 1947, and on July 16, 1949, Di Petta and crew were declared non-recoverable.

The crash site was located in 2015 after several years of Project Recover search missions. In partnership with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), Project Recover recovered MIAs from the Avenger during their first MIA Recovery Mission in 2021. The location was about 200 meters from the shore of Malakal Island.

Scientists from DPAA used dental analysis to identify Di Petta’s remains, while scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil.

  Nutley