Luke Gasparre’s Astoria neighbors are used to seeing him in a New York Mets jacket. The 91-year-old has been ushering for the team for a record 52 years. But sports also played a critical role when Gasparre donned another uniform nearly seven decades ago as a member of the 87th division of the U.S. Army in World War II. On Oct. 11, when Gasparre put on that uniform once again for Astoria’s Columbus Day parade, it was the first time many of his neighbors had seen him in full military regalia.
Video by Lora Moftah/The Ink
On Nov. 6, Gasparre’s military service will again put him center stage. Although he is usually behind the scenes, connecting people in his neighborhood, Gasparre will receive a very public acknowledgement of his achievements as a soldier when the French government gives him that country’s highest civilian award, the Legion of Honor.
“That’ll be another medal I have to put on,” he joked. The Legion of Honor was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 to honor those who “represent an ideal of conduct and serve as a role model for society,” according to a spokesman for the French Consulate in New York. Gasparre is being honored for his three years fighting in Europe, particularly during Battle of the Bulge, the bloody counteroffensive launched by German forces at the end of 1944 that resulted in heavy casualties on both sides.
Despite the honor, Gasparre, who enlisted at 18, is modest. “I’m just a plain ordinary soldier,” he said. “I’ve done my duty, or at least what I was told to do. That’s our job when you go into the service.”
He was originally assigned to the 66th Division, but was transferred to the 87th six months later. On Christmas Eve in 1944, less than a year after his transfer, the 66th Division was torpedoed by German forces in the English Channel. That narrow escape didn’t shelter Gasparre from the horrors of trench warfare, the scars of which he still carries to this day.
In Metz, he blocked a bullet with his right hand, which put him out of commission for three weeks.
Shortly after, he returned to the front lines and escaped death a third time during the Battle of the Bulge. That escape started with a small act of insubordination. Exhausted and ill, Gasparre disobeyed a sergeant’s early morning order to stand guard duty. Soon afterwards, the sergeant essentially kicked Gasparre out of the unit.
“We assemble out in the front,” Gasparre said. “[The sergeant] says, ‘Private Luke Gasparre, step forward.’ I step forward. He said, ‘You’re on your own. Goodbye and good luck.’ This is pitch dark, in the woods, cold. In German territory. And he left me to die.”
Gasparre was alone in the Ardennes Forest. With frozen feet, he stumbled unto a battlefield filled with Allied corpses. To avoid detection by passing German troops, Gasparre played dead amidst the carnage and prayed for his life. His prayers were answered when a convoy of American soldiers drove near his hiding spot.
Listen to Gasparre recount how the New York Yankees saved his life during the war:
His connection to baseball proved to be a lifeline when a sergeant with the convoy questioned his identity. He asked Gasparre, “Who’s your favorite baseball team?”
“At that time, I said ‘the New York Yankees’,” Gasparre said. “[The sergeant] said, ‘Where are they located at?’ I said, ‘161st Street and Grand Concourse in the Bronx.’” That response alone was enough for the sergeant, and Gasparre was immediately welcomed back into the ranks.
Honorably discharged, he left for New York on May 1, 1945. Germany surrendered to Allied forces while Gasparre was halfway across the Atlantic.
Gasparre may attribute his narrow escapes from death to divine providence, but part of it may also have been due to luck, his own resilience and a strong upbringing.
As an Italian-American, Gasparre had been raised to be tough and resourceful. According to Richard Melnick of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, Italian-Americans in New York City moved from the tenements of the Lower East Side to the developing outer boroughs like Queens to seek economic prosperity.
And for many, military service was a way to demonstrate their loyalty to the U.S. during World War II. “A lot of Italian-Americans loved being part of this country and joined the troops willingly to make a name for themselves,” Melnick said.
Being Italian-American is an important part of Gasparre’s identity but he’s also proud of the current diversity of his Astoria community. The connections he has fostered with his neighbors transcend ethnic and socioeconomic lines. On the course of the parade route, he waved and spoke to neighborhood friends that included shop owners, postal workers, and police officers.
The parade ended at the statue of Christopher Columbus on Astoria Boulevard, where Gasparre was also personally greeted by many of the local politicians participating in the festivities, including Councilman Costa Constantinides.
U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney also lauded Gasparre’s role in the community. “He’s involved in everything that involves the community,” she said. “Whether it’s the Democratic clubs or the parades, the civic life of the community. He’s always there. To know him is to love him.”
Video by Lora Moftah/The Ink
State Sen. Michael Gianaris echoed the sentiments. “I’ve known Luke since I was a teenager,” said Gianaris, 45. “He’s been one of the more active members of this community for as long as I can remember. He’s active in all the clubs, all the civic organizations, and, as a lifelong Mets fan, I know him most of all because he’s an usher.”
In 1964, Gasparre entered a lottery for a job at Shea Stadium, the former home of the Mets, seeking excitement away from his job as a postal worker. He was one of around 500 hopefuls, and has manned his position in front of first base ever since then. He retired from the post office in 1980.
According to his son, Luke Gasparre Jr., his work at the Mets’ current home, Citifield, has helped him extend his network beyond the neighborhood. However, Gasparre’s main base of operations continues to be a local Italian restaurant called Ristorante Piccola Venezia a few blocks from his house.
When he entered after the parade, he was greeted with a loud “Marone!”– an Italian expression of surprise — by the manager, Johnny Fabijanic, who immediately grabbed his cellphone to photograph Gasparre in his Army uniform. Gasparre knows all the waiters, as well as many of the patrons. His childhood friend, fellow veteran and Grammy-award winning singer Tony Bennett also has a table
“He just knows everybody,” his son said. “And he especially comes to this restaurant so he meets a lot of people. He’s the best networker around. He enjoys it…. He’s out there entertaining, talking all the time.”
Gasparre lives by the philosophy that you should always have a smile on your face. However, the nonagenarian’s ever-present smile masks the deeply personal pain he has been grappling with recently. On June 6, Gasparre’s wife of more than six decades, Madeline, died after fighting cancer. He now lives with his son and grandson, Vince Gasparre, 23.
He keeps a room in his house as a time capsule to their marriage. Their 1948 wedding portrait hangs framed by more recent photos of them together with their children. He also keeps a stuffed bear that sings 1954 musical standard “Smile,” most famously performed by Nat King Cole. Gasparre says he and his wife used to dance to the tune.
Listen to Gasparre describing a favorite song:
Gasparre believes his wife would want him to be happy trooping through life, as he’s always done. “I thank the Lord I had her for 66 years,” he said. “That’s life. Live for the living. Don’t stop living.”
–By Kevin Milian and Lora Moftah