Obituary of Peter M. Jannuzzi

WWII veteran, concentration camp liberator, LI physician Peter Jannuzzi, M.D. dies at 86. From serving as a combat medic in the 100th Infantry Division, to caring for generations of Long Island families as a pediatrician of the Huntington Medical Group, Peter Michael Jannuzzi spent a lifetime healing others. Jannuzzi, a longtime Huntington resident died Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011. He was 86. Born and raised in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn, Jannuzzi's career in medicine abruptly began October 20, 1944 when he landed at Marseille, France, a medic in the US Army's 100th Infantry Division, 325th Medical Battalion. Providing critical medical and surgical support to the 100th infantry, the 325th pushed northeast across the Vosges Mountains where, according to the Army's Combat History for the 325th Medical Battalion, the infantry engaged in fierce fighting through the winter. Facing heavy snows and near zero temperatures, Jannuzzi and his fellow combat medics often resorted to using sleighs to transport wounded soldiers across the treacherous alpine terrain. In March of 1945, the fighting in the Vosges culminated with the 100th infantry overtaking the German stronghold in the city of Bitche, a vital fortification center of the Nazi-held Maginot Line. The 100th was the first army in history to take the massive fortress at Bitche by force. Their victory not only helped hasten the German retreat through the early months of 1945, it also inspired their commanding officer, Major General Withers A. Burress, to affectionately dub them "The Sons of Bitche." In April, after facing some of their bloodiest combat of the war, the 100th took the city of Heilbronn, a key railroad and defense metropolis in the heart of Germany. In what was to be one of the last major battles in the European theater of war, Heilbronn proved to be a crushing defeat from which the Nazi Army would never recover. With the combat phase of WWII over, Jannuzzi's burgeoning medical skills were next needed to tend to the sick and dying at the infamous Dachau concentration camp. He arrived in Dachau as part of the liberation force and remained there, striving to preserve life in a place originally designed for its eradication. Jannuzzi returned from Europe in 1946, a staff sergeant, and soon after began his formal education in medicine. He received his undergraduate degree from Manhattan College in 1951 and his doctor of medicine from Georgetown University Medical School in 1955. During medical school, he was introduced to a beautiful young woman, also from Brooklyn, named Angela Salomone. Their romance quickly blossomed and on October 9, 1954, they were married. The couple settled in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn and Peter began practicing pediatrics at Kings County hospital. Soon after, their first child arrived and over the subsequent fourteen years, six more would follow. In 1962, the Jannuzzis relocated to Huntington where Peter, along with his dear friend and partner David Tuman, M.D., joined the Huntington Medical Group. It was the beginning of a pediatric practice that would span three decades and touch the lives of countless Long Island families. Dr. Jannuzzi retired in 1989 and remained in Huntington until his death this past Sunday. He and his wife spent their remaining years together enjoying the fruits of their life's labors, ever devoted to each other and the loving family they created. In addition to his wife of 56 years, Jannuzzi is survived by his children Lisa (Carl) Benincasa, Peter (Kathleen), Angela (Rainer) Schwarz, Michael (Dolores), Catherine (Peter) Berkery, David (Claire), and Christopher (Elizabeth); his sisters Regina Girasole and the late Marilyn Shields; and his 15 grandchildren. A funeral will take place on Friday, April 29 at 10:45 AM, St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, Huntington.