David "Dave" V. Berardi was born February 6, 1922 in Pennsylvania in the mining village of Nemacolin. His parents were Italian immigrants originally from Feltria Sant'Agata, near Rimini, San Marino. Dave had 4 brothers and 4 sisters. He was drafted on December 2, 1942 and volunteered to be a parachutist on January 12, 1943. He joined Company A, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On July 9, 1943, Dave Berardi took part in the first regimental airborne attack when he jumped into Sicily as part of Operation Huskey. On March 12, 1943 he jumped onto the Salerno beachhead. From there, Dave and his comrades were sent to England to prepare for the assault on Fortress Europe. On 5 June 1944, at 23:15, he jumped into Ste Mere Eglise as part of the Normandy invation. On September 17, 1944, Dave Berardi took part in this fourth combat jump during Operation Market Garden in Holland. A Groesbeek, Dave Berardi risked his life by providing ammunition to a small group of men ensnared in a house surrounded by the Germans. He was shot and received his third Purple Heart. After a brief hospitalization and recuperation period in England, he rejoined his unit in France in the region of Reims. On December 16, 1944, the unit deployed to the Battle of the Bulge via truck. The fate of Dave Berardi ends tragically on January 6, 1945 during the 505th PIR’s move to Arbrefontaine. He was killed in an ambush while out on a scouting mission. He was originally buried in the Henri-Chapelle American cemetery before being repatriated to Nemacolin, PA.