Home Game Honorary Veteran Captain

Sergeant Joseph Romboli, a life-long resident of Durham, has been selected as the Coginchaug football team’s honorary captain for the Granby game on November 9th.
Sergeant Romboli entered the United States Army at the age of 18 in January of 1944. Following his stateside training he was deployed to Europe. In December 1944 he was assigned to the 309th Field Artillery Battalion of the 78th Infantry Division attached to the U.S. 1st Army in Belgium. 
Sergeant Romboli was immediately thrust into combat against the German winter offensive known as the “Battle of the Bulge”. Sergeant Romboli and the 1st Army helped stem the Nazi advance and then drive the Germans out of Belgium and into Germany. In March 1945 Sergeant Romboli and the 78th Infantry Division helped capture the Remagen Bridge, the last intact bridge over the Rhine River. The capture of this strategic bridge allowed Allied forces to pour into the heart of Germany and speed the German surrender. 
Sergeant Romboli was discharged in 1946 and served in the U.S. Army reserves until 1949.
Sergeant Romboli worked for local construction companies until 1960 when he opened his own business, R & W Construction. He married his wife Eleanor in 1952. They have been married for 61 years.
To Sergeant Joseph Romboli and his wife Eleanor, Coginchaug says “Thank you”.