This Day in History: 1946-07-27

A very unusual war bride arrived to stay with her husband temporarily in his parents’ home on Carol Street in Ramsey. She was the former Lucy Mentchisky, a Ukranian who had been taken to Germany for forced labor during the war. The petite blonde, who reminded many locally of the skating and film star Sonja Henie, was an accomplished pianist, who spoke five languages fluently, including English. She met and fell in love with T/4 Dominic Carracello who was part of the 44th Armored Division occupying the part of Germany where she had been held. They met in December, 1945 and were married in a civil ceremony on May 18th in Regensburg, Germany. A church wedding followed on June 15th. The groom had entered the army in September 1942. He started with the Signal Corps and the Rescue Boat Squadron in New Orleans, and later with three different infantry and armored divisions, earning the Combat Infantryman’s badge and the ETO ribbon with battle star. He deposited his bride with his mother, Mrs. Dominic Spadavecchia on Carol Street and returned to Fort Dix where he received his honorable discharge on the 30th.

Mrs. Carracello reported that she liked the green, rural atmosphere in Ramsey since she had always lived in a large city. She had not ventured much out of the house yet, preferring to wait for her husband to show her the local sites. (Bristow)