Private First Class (family-reported) · 168th AAA Gun Battalion
Army · Service no. 33 685 527
Service Number
33 685 527
Family-Reported Rank
Private First Class (family-reported)
Last Documented Unit
168th AAA Gun Battalion
Theater
Asiatic-Pacific Theater
This timeline reconstructs John's World War II service from
his enlistment record and the Morning Reports, orders and unit records held by the National Archives, searched
by service number. Each entry cites its source; items marked
Newly discovered were recovered from the records.
Map of Service
Route reconstructed from confirmed locations.
Service stops
Pittsburgh, Pa.inducted 30 Apr 1943
Fort Meade, Md.spring 1943
Fort Eustis, Va.antiaircraft training, May-Sep 1943
Fort Ord, Calif.replacement depot, Sep-Nov 1943
Camp Ascot, Brisbanearrived Australia 9 Dec 1943
Camp Blue Water, Qld.joined Battery A 27 Dec 1943
Finschhafen, New Guinea25 Feb-17 Mar 1944
Los Negros, Admiralty Is.Mar-Oct 1944
Leyte, PhilippinesRed Beach and Tacloban, Oct-Nov 1944
Samar, Philippinesfrom 6 Nov 1944; battalion there 15 Aug 1945
Hillsville, Pa.home; discharged 4 Jan 1946
Route notes
1 → 2Spring 1943
2 → 3May 1943
3 → 4Orders of 13 Sep 1943
4 → 5Shipment GH-806-A, Nov-Dec 1943
5 → 6Dec 1943
6 → 7USAT Cape Perpetua, Feb 1944
7 → 8USAT Norman E. Mack, 17-19 Mar 1944
8 → 9Herald of the Morning, Oct 1944
9 → 106 Nov 1944
First time here?
How to read this service timeline
This page brings together records created for different purposes. The labels below tell you what kind of evidence supports each entry; open either guide when a record or military term is unfamiliar.
?
Confirmed — Service record
A personal military record supports the entry.
Confirmed — Unit record
A record created by his unit names him or documents the unit’s activity.
Context
Helpful background, clearly separated from personal evidence.
Newly discovered
Information recovered during this research, rather than supplied at the start.
How to read a Morning Report
Morning Reports were daily administrative records prepared by individual Army and Army Air Forces units. They generally recorded changes—such as arrivals, transfers, promotions, illness, or return to duty—not a complete list of everyone present.
MORNING REPORT · SAMPLE
1Organization Company A, 123rd Infantry
2Station or location Camp Example, Virginia
3Date 14 September 1944
4Section Personnel changes
5Pvt Smith, John A., 35123456 6asgd fr Hq Co per SO 187, Hq 123d Inf
In plain English
Private John A. Smith, identified by Army Serial Number 35123456, was assigned to Company A from Headquarters Company under Special Orders No. 187.
1Organization: the company, hospital, squadron, or other unit filing the report.
2Station or location: where that unit reported from on that date.
3Report date: the date of the report, which may differ from the effective date of a change.
4Section: the part of the form containing personnel changes or the unit’s record of events.
5Soldier entry: usually rank, name, and Army Serial Number.
6Change and authority: what happened and the order authorizing it.
asgd
assigned
atchd
attached
trfd
transferred
fr
from
aptd
appointed
EM
enlisted men
SO
Special Orders
GO
General Orders
orgn
organization
sta
station
Common military and research terms
Army Serial Number (ASN)
The unique service number used to distinguish one soldier from others with similar names.
Discharge or separation paper
The document issued when a service member left active service. For many WWII Army enlisted soldiers, this is WD AGO Form 53-55. It summarizes service but is not a day-by-day history.
Morning Report
An Army unit’s daily administrative report. It usually lists people whose status changed, not every person in the unit.
Unit record
A document created by a military organization. It may name the soldier directly or provide context about his unit; the timeline states which applies.
OMPF or “201 file”
The service member’s Official Military Personnel File. Many Army and Air Force files were damaged or destroyed in the 1973 National Personnel Records Center fire.
Unit and final unit
A unit is the organization in which someone served. The final unit is the organization shown at separation; it may not be the only unit in the service history.
Rank or grade
The service member’s level in the military hierarchy. A timeline may show changes in rank over time.
MOS
Military Occupational Specialty—the Army’s classification for a soldier’s primary military job.
Assigned and attached
Assigned means formally placed in a unit. Attached usually means serving with a unit temporarily while belonging administratively elsewhere.
Special Orders and General Orders
Official directives used to authorize personnel actions, awards, organizational changes, and other decisions.
Campaign credit
Official recognition for service connected with a named campaign. It does not, by itself, describe a service member’s individual actions.
Station or location
The place from which a unit filed a report. It does not automatically prove that every member was physically present there.
Source citation
The note beneath a timeline entry identifying the record or records that support it.
Service Timeline
22 min
Confirmed — Record
November 13, 1924
Born in New Castle, Pennsylvania
John Dominic Grilli is born in New Castle, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, a son of Berardino (“Ben”) and Josephine Grilli. By the war years the family’s home is at Hillsville, in Mahoning Township. John grows up with brothers Dominic, Mario and Albert and sisters Carmella, Elizabeth and Lena.
His birth date and birthplace agree across his obituary, his Find A Grave memorial, and the Social Security and Veterans Administration death files.
Source: Obituary clipping dated 3/5/88, from the family; Find A Grave memorial 249429021; Social Security Death Master File; VA BIRLS death file; New Castle News, 19 May 1943, p. 7 (Hillsville)
Confirmed — Service record
December 28, 1942
Registers for the draft
Six weeks after his eighteenth birthday, John registers with Local Board No. 2 of Lawrence County at New Castle. His card gives his home as Mahoning Township, his mail as Lock Box 22, Hillsville, and his father, Ben Grilli, as the person who will always know his address. He already works for the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company at Struthers, Ohio.
The registrar describes him as 5 feet 9½ inches tall and 165 pounds, with brown eyes, brown hair and a ruddy complexion. He signs the card John Dominic Grilli.
W-97 on the card is his draft registration number. His Army serial number came with his induction four months later.
His draft card, front, signed John Dominic Grilli.The back: the registrar’s description and the stamp of Local Board No. 2, New Castle.
At eighteen, John enters the Army at Pittsburgh. The Army’s enlistment record lists him as a selectee from civil life, a Private, with four years of high school, single, and living in Lawrence County. From this day his service number is 33 685 527.
To Fort Eustis, Virginia, to learn the antiaircraft guns
The New Castle News carries the news home in its “In U.S. Armed Service” column: “Pvt. John D. Grilli, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Grilli of Hillsville, has been transferred from Fort Meade, Md., to Fort Eustis, Va. Another son, Private Dominick Grilli, is stationed at North Camp Polk, La.”
Fort Eustis is home to the Army’s Antiaircraft Artillery Replacement Training Center, where new men learn the guns before joining a battery. Every later Army list that names him marks him CAC/AA: Coast Artillery Corps, antiaircraft.
New Castle News, 19 May 1943, page 7. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Headquarters of the Antiaircraft Artillery Replacement Training Center at Fort Eustis publishes Special Orders No. 219. Paragraph 19 transfers a list of men to Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 2 at Fort Ord, California, to travel on or about 18 September. Line 12 reads Pvt Grilli John D 33685527 514. He is due at Fort Ord on 29 September, with seven days’ delay en route.
Special Orders No. 219, 13 September 1943. He is line 12. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Another filmed copy of the same order (image 774). The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Another filmed copy (image 842). The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Another filmed copy (image 891).Another filmed copy, Roll 41 part 3 (image 2478). The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Special Orders No. 219, Hq AARTC, Fort Eustis, Va., 13 Sept. 1943, par. 19 — NARA Morning Reports, NAID 449433519, images 729, 774, 842, 891 (Roll 41, September 1943); NAID 449435521, image 2478 (Roll 41, part 3)
Confirmed — Unit record
September 29, 1943
Reports at Fort Ord, California
John reports at Fort Ord on 29 September. The depot’s Special Orders No. 32 of 1 October records it: “Having reported 29 Sept 1943, as Replacements to AGF Repl Depot No 2, this sta, in compliance with Par 19, SO 219, Hq, AA RTC, Ft Eustis, Va., dated 13 Sept 1943, each of the following-named EM (AAA) is, effective 29 Sept 1943, atchd unasgd” to the depot’s Casual and Retention Company. He is on the list.
Special Orders No. 36 of 6 October moves the same antiaircraft men, marked CAC/AA, to Company “L”, 3rd Replacement Regiment (Composite), effective 5 October. His entry carries the numbers 482 and 514 that his battery’s report gives him in December.
Special Orders No. 32, Fort Ord, 1 October 1943: reported 29 September. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Special Orders No. 36, Fort Ord, 6 October 1943. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.A second filmed copy of Special Orders No. 36 (Roll 150).
Source: Special Orders No. 32 (extract), Hq Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 2, Fort Ord, Calif., 1 Oct. 1943, par. 3, and Special Orders No. 36 (extract), 6 Oct. 1943, par. 11 — NARA Morning Reports, NAID 452531618, images 2001, 2036 (Roll 149, October 1943); SO 36 also filmed at NAID 452531875, image 985 (Roll 150, October 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
November 10, 1943
Named to an overseas shipment
His name goes onto the rosters of an overseas shipment. Transfer List No. 21 for Shipment GH-806-A, under Special Orders No. 69 of 10 November 1943, carries him in Casual Company No. 13: 143. Pvt Grilli, John D. 33685527 CAC/AA 514. The shipment’s roster of privates lists him again: 1396. GRILLI, JOHN D. 33685527.
Transfer List No. 21, Casual Company No. 13. He is line 143. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.A second filmed copy of Transfer List No. 21 (image 1119). The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Shipment GH-806-A roster of privates. He is number 1396. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Shipment GH-806-A, Transfer List No. 21, Casual Co. No. 13 (SO 69, par. 13, 10 Nov. 1943), and shipment roster p. 24 — NARA Morning Reports, NAID 456346374, images 1061, 1119 (Roll 432, November 1943); NAID 455775458, image 473 (Roll 248, November 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
December 9, 1943
Arrives in Australia
The report is headed Camp Ascot, Q’ld.: Queensland, Australia. Camp Ascot was the Ascot racecourse in Brisbane, taken over as the Fifth Replacement Depot’s transit camp for men arriving from the United States. There, Company “H” of the 16th Replacement Battalion takes in a shipment of new men from home. Its morning report for 9 December 1943 reads “345 EM atchd unasgd fr U.S. & jd 0930. (Roster atchd)” The attached roster, headed “The following named EM attached this organization 0930 hours this date,” lists Grilli, John D., Army serial number 33685527, branch A. A.
The morning report records the group’s arrival and directs the reader to the attached roster; John is named on page 3 of that roster.
The morning report, 9 December 1943. It does not list the men by name: the line “345 EM atchd unasgd fr U.S. & jd 0930 (Roster atchd)” points to the attached roster, below.The attached roster, page 1.The attached roster, page 3: Grilli, John D., branch A. A. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
In Australia: assigned to the 168th AAA Gun Battalion
The Fifth Replacement Depot publishes Special Orders No. 320. Paragraph 13 assigns six Coast Artillery privates to the 168th Antiaircraft Artillery (AAA) Gun Battalion, APO 922. One of them is Pvt GRILLI, John D. 33685527 514, attached to the 279th Replacement Company.
Two days later, on 23 December, the 279th Replacement Company’s morning report at Camp Ascot, Queensland, Australia, records him and Clifton A. Greeson leaving: “above two EM asgd 168th AAA Gun Bn per par 13 SO 320 Hq 5th Repl Depot & departed 1100.”
The filmed copy of the order carries a large X and a pencilled “See par 21”. The Camp Ascot report shows paragraph 13 carried out as written.
Special Orders No. 320, 21 December 1943. Paragraph 13; he is the last name. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.279th Replacement Company, Camp Ascot, 23 December 1943. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
At Camp Blue Water, about 22 miles north of Townsville, Queensland, Battery A of the 168th AAA Gun Battalion takes him onto its rolls. The battery’s morning report reads “33685527 Grilli, John D. Pvt … MCO 482 MOS 514. Above men asgd. & jd per SO #46 Hqs 168th AAA Gun Bn APO #922 dtd 27 Dec/43.” The battery’s weapons, as its own reports name them, are 90mm antiaircraft guns and machine guns.
The same day’s report sends one officer and 25 men on a three-day jungle trek. The report of 7 January 1944 records the trek party back.
A morning report names a soldier only on a day something changes for him: he joins, leaves, goes to the hospital, or is promoted. From here, Battery A’s own daily reports tell where the battery went and what it did. No later report we found moves John out of the battery, and the Philippine Liberation ribbon on his discharge, as the county read it to the family, fits the battery’s service on Leyte and Samar.
Battery A, 27 December 1943. He is the third name. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Battery A, 7 January 1944: the trek party returns.
Source: Morning Report, Battery A, 168th AAA Gun Bn, Camp Blue Water, Australia, 27 Dec. 1943 — NARA NAID 459451541, image 384 (Roll 559, December 1943); 7 Jan. 1944 — NAID 462152689, image 54 (Roll 641, January 1944); location of Camp Blue Water: OzAtWar, “Camp Blue Water”, https://ozatwar.com/locations/campbluewater.htm
Confirmed — Unit record
February 25, 1944
New Guinea: Finschhafen
The battery sails north from Australia to New Guinea. Its report for 25 February 1944 reads: “Debarked fr U.S.A.T. Cape Perpetua at 2050. Bivouaced at Finschhafen New Guinea.” Finschhafen lies on the northeast coast of New Guinea. The battery’s report of 1 March is written there, signed by Capt. Mortimer L. Goldman.
Battery A, 25 February 1944: ashore at Finschhafen from U.S.A.T. Cape Perpetua.Battery A at Finschhafen, New Guinea, 1 March 1944.
Source: Morning Reports, Battery A, 168th AAA Gun Bn, Finschhafen, New Guinea, 25 Feb. 1944 — NARA NAID 464358307, image 1932 (Roll 549, February 1944); 1 Mar. 1944 — NAID 466241978, image 1944 (Roll 486, March 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
March 17, 1944
By sea to Los Negros Island
“Departed fr Finschhafen New Guinea at 1300. Embarked U.S.A.T. Norman E. Mack enroute to new station.” On 18 March the report is headed At Sea. On the 19th the battery comes ashore on Los Negros Island in the Admiralty Islands: “Debarked fr U.S.A.T. Norman E. Mack at 0800. Bivouaced at staging area.”
17 March 1944: aboard U.S.A.T. Norman E. Mack.18 March 1944: at sea.19 March 1944: ashore on Los Negros Island.
Source: Morning Reports, Battery A, 168th AAA Gun Bn, 17–19 Mar. 1944 — NARA Morning Reports, NAID 466241978, images 1978, 1980, 1982 (Roll 486, March 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
May 16, 1944
Mokerang Plantation, Los Negros
The battery settles at Mokerang Plantation on Los Negros. Its reports log the routine there: “May 11–12/44 incl Usual camp duties. May 13–14/44 incl Practice firing with 90mm & machine guns. May 15/44 Usual camp duties. May 16/44 Yellow Alert 0910, all clear 0913.”
Battery A at Mokerang Plantation, 16 May 1944.
Source: Morning Report, Battery A, 168th AAA Gun Bn, Mokerang Plantation, Los Negros Island, 16 May 1944 — NARA NAID 475184464, image 348 (Roll 748, May 1944)
Context
September 29, 1944
News reaches home: “somewhere in the Pacific”
The column runs under the banner “War Censorship Regulations Limit Information Allowed In This Column.” About John it says only this: “Pvt. John Grilli, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Grilli, Edenburg, is on active duty somewhere in the Pacific.” Just above it, the same column reports his brother, Pfc. Dominick Grilli, back at Camp Polk, Louisiana, after ten days’ furlough at their parents’ home.
New Castle News, 29 September 1944, page 16. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
“Oct 7/44 Boarded U.S. Navy transport Herald of the Morning, at 1020.” 1st Lt. Neal H. Walker and four men board the cargo ship Arneb to travel with the battery’s equipment.
“Oct 15–19/44 incl Aboard transport enroute to new station. Oct 20/44 Arrived Leyte Island in the Phillipines at 0600 & debarked fr U.S.S. transport Herald of the Morning & boarded U.S.S. transport Arneb at 1800 to unload btry equipment.”
20 October 1944 is the day American forces land on Leyte, opening the campaign to free the Philippines.
“Oct 21/44 Debarked fr U.S.S. transport Arneb. 90mm gun crews & comm section … & set up tactical position on Red Beach Leyte Island. 90mm guns ready to fire at 1730.”
Early the next morning an enemy bomber attacks: “Attacked by enemy bomber at 0645, fired 28 rounds of 90mm at same, possibly caused slight damage.” The machine gunners come ashore and are ready to fire by 1000. One man is slightly injured in the chest and stays on duty.
21 October 1944: Red Beach, guns ready to fire at 1730.22 October 1944: the first engagement.
Source: Morning Reports, Battery A, 168th AAA Gun Bn, Leyte Island, 21–22 Oct. 1944 — NARA Morning Reports, NAID 572912804, images 84, 85 (Roll 567, October 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
October 24, 1944
Defending Tacloban airstrip
The battery moves from Red Beach to the Tacloban airstrip and is ready to fire at 1630. Enemy planes come over by day and by night. The reports read:
“Oct 24/44 … Machine guns fired at enemy bomber at 0915, no visible effect.” A man is slightly wounded in the shoulder by flak and stays on duty. “Oct 25/44 Btry fired on 7 enemy planes in period fr 0615 to 2030, destroying one, & possibly damaging another.” “Oct 26/44 Btry fired on 15 enemy planes fr 0615 to 2318. One enemy fighter destroyed by Machine Gun fire. Organizational position bombed & strafed 1823. Bombed again at 1932 & again at 1937. No casualties.”
On 27 October an enemy plane strafes the battery area at 0645, and the battery fires on bombers morning and evening. That report also records the death of one of the battery’s officers: “Walker, Neal H … 1st Lt … Killed accidentally by discharged rifle in btry area.” 1st Lt. Paul G. Dolan assumes command of Battery A.
24 October 1944: to Tacloban airstrip.25 October 1944.26 October 1944.27 October 1944: Lt. Walker’s death; Lt. Dolan assumes command.
“Numerous red alerts during the day. Area bombed twice during the evening from 2000, to 2400 no casualties.” (1 November) “7 Red alerts. Possibly damaged two enemy planes with M.G. & 90mm. Organizational area strafed and bombed no casualties.” (2 November) “Five red alerts. One enemy plane destroyed by 90mm, & One probably by Machine gun fire. Strafing was light.” (3 November) “Numerous red alerts throughout the day. Organizational area strafed and bombed with no casualties. Two enemy planes destroyed and one probable.” (4 November)
1 November 1944.2 November 1944.3 November 1944.4 November 1944.
“Nov 5/44 Fr 0001 to 0400 fired 382 rds of 90mm ammunition at enemy planes. Effects not visual. At 0800 went into march order. 1000 moved fr Tacloban Airstrip to Hq Btry staging area, awaiting water transportation to Samar for new tactical position.”
“Nov 6/44 Moved fr Leyte Island to Samar Island in the Phillipines, arrived at 2000 and bivouaced for the night.” “Nov 7/44 Prepared revetments & guns emplaced & were ready to go into action at 1600.”
From Samar the battery keeps firing. On 18 November: “Engaged four enemy planes, visual effects showed hits on one.”
5 November 1944: 382 rounds, then march order.6 November 1944: to Samar Island.7 November 1944: guns emplaced.18 November 1944: four enemy planes engaged.
Source: Morning Reports, Battery A, 168th AAA Gun Bn, 5–7 and 18 Nov. 1944 — NARA Morning Reports, NAID 575707384, images 596, 597, 598, 609 (Roll 440, November 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
November 24, 1944
A captured Japanese gun, turned on Japanese planes
Battery A’s report for 24 November records a kill with an unusual weapon: “Engaged one enemy plane and destroyed same with Jap 25 mm.”
The Army’s official history of antiaircraft in the Pacific, written in 1946, explains the line. The 168th AAA Gun Battalion used a captured Japanese twin-mount 25mm gun, a dual-purpose weapon built to fire at aircraft, and the Army credited the battalion with two planes destroyed and one damaged with 205 rounds from it.
The same page covers the weeks Battery A spent defending the Tacloban airstrip: after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Navy planes used the strip as a haven, the Japanese tried to put it out of action, and Army antiaircraft on Leyte was credited with 251 enemy planes destroyed out of 1,278 that attacked.
Battery A, 24 November 1944: a plane destroyed with the captured Japanese 25mm gun.Antiaircraft Artillery Activities in the Pacific War (1946), p. 103. Paragraph p names the 168th and its captured gun.
The battery is still on Samar at Christmas. Its report for 25 December reads: “Dec 22–23/44 incl Usual orgn duties. Dec 24–25/44 incl Engaged enemy planes over position. Usual orgn duties.”
25 December 1944.1 December 1944: Battery A on Samar Island.
Source: Morning Reports, Battery A, 168th AAA Gun Bn, Samar Island, 1 and 25 Dec. 1944 — NARA Morning Reports, NAID 578531762, images 148, 172 (Roll 434, December 1944)
Context
August 15, 1945
The 168th remains at Leyte–Samar through the end of the war
The Army’s 1946 history of antiaircraft in the Pacific lists the 168th AAA Gun Battalion at Leyte–Samar from 20 October 1944, and still there on 15 August 1945, the day the fighting with Japan ended. For the Leyte operation it credits the battalion with 511 enemy planes attacking its positions, 28½ destroyed, 4 probably destroyed and 4 damaged.
The Army’s register of campaign credit lists three campaigns for the battalion: New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and Leyte. The register credits Battery A, Battery D, the headquarters battery and a battalion detachment with the bronze arrowhead for the assault landing on Leyte, 20 to 22 October 1944. The battalion also holds the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
This is the battalion’s record. The records held for this timeline do not name John after December 1944 and therefore do not establish his personal location on 15 August 1945.
Antiaircraft Artillery Activities in the Pacific War (1946), p. 306: the 168th AAA Gun Bn at Leyte–Samar from 20 October 1944, with no end date (still there 15 August 1945).The same history, p. 221: the 168th’s record on Leyte, 511 enemy planes attacking, 28½ destroyed.DA Pamphlet 672-1 (1961), p. 195: the 168th AAA Gun Battalion’s campaigns (3, 13, 15), the Leyte arrowhead for Batteries A and D, and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation (F-56).
The VA BIRLS file records John’s active service as ending on 4 January 1946, two years and eight months after he reported for duty in May 1943. His family reports that his headstone identifies him as a Private First Class. The latest records held for this timeline list him as a Private: Battery A’s morning report on 27 December 1943 and the New Castle News on 29 September 1944. No held service record documents his promotion or establishes his grade at separation.
His family remembers John as an antiaircraft gunner who served mostly in the Philippines.
The county’s copy of his discharge, as read to the family, lists the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon, the Philippine Liberation ribbon and the Good Conduct Medal, with the Honorable Service lapel button.
Source: Family account (grandchild), September 2026, including the county’s reading of his recorded discharge
Context
Remembered at home
On the Mahoning Township Veterans Memorial
Mahoning Township’s memorial on West State Street near Edinburg is “dedicated to the men and women of Mahoning Township who served during World War II.” Three Grillis stand together on it: Grilli, Dominic, Grilli, Fioraonte, and Grilli, John D.
In 1952 John marries Mary Evelyn Glynn and moves to Youngstown, Ohio. They raise three sons, John W., Robert and Thomas. He works in the bar mill of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, the company he worked for before the war, retiring in 1978, and is a member of St. Brendan Church.
Source: Obituary clipping dated 3/5/88, from the family; Find A Grave memorial 249429166 (Mary Evelyn Glynn Grilli); his draft registration card, 28 Dec. 1942 (employer)
Confirmed — Record
March 3, 1988
Died in Youngstown
John D. Grilli dies of cancer at his son Robert’s home in Youngstown on 3 March 1988, at 63, weeks after Mary, who died in January. His obituary calls him “a World War II Army veteran.” He is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Youngstown. His mother, his three sons, his brothers and sisters, and eight grandsons survive him.
Obituary clipping dated 3/5/88, from the family. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
