MI K of C Fourth Degree Supports Repatriation of WWII Marine
- Thu, Dec 2, 2021 4:12 PM
A WWII Marine who fought in the Battle of the Pacific was brought home to the Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta, Michigan to be interred at his final resting place on Tuesday November 30, 2021. Marine Corps Corporal Andrew Pellerito was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force when it landed in the Tarawa Atoll in the Pacific against heavy Japanese resistance on November 20, 1943. He was killed on the first day of the battle, and his remains were considered non-recoverable. However, he was recently identified through DNA testing on August 19, 2021, and returned to Michigan for a full military burial.
Accompanied by approximately 30 family members and friends, ten members of the Fourth Degree Honor Guard of the Michigan Knights of Columbus from three districts in the Father Hennepin Province were present to support the full military service, along with a dozen active duty Marines and ten members of the Ft. Custer Military Honor Guard.
The wife of District 4 Master, Marie Woodrum, was actually a blood relative of Corporal Pellerito.
Members of the 4th Degree contingent from Michigan who attended included:
District 1 – Archdiocese of Detroit: Master Mark Brezinski, SK Robert Ciavaglia, SK Gene Suchyta
District 2 – Dioceses of Lansing/Kalamazoo: Master Joseph Yekulis, FM David Buick, Sr. Marshal Bill Currie, Marshal Karl Kerchief
District 4 – Dioceses of Grand Rapids/Saginaw: Master Keith Woodrum, SK Walter Cummings, SK Antonio Rodriguez