thedrifter
04-19-07, 08:42 AM
HHS grad awarded Purple Heart: Angelo Sciotti injured in December, honored last month
By ROB MONTANA - STAFF WRITER
Three months after he suffered injuries from a roadside bomb blast, Angelo “Spike” Sciotti received the Purple Heart, recognizing his efforts while being wounded by a roadside bomb in December in Iraq.
LCpl. Sciotti, a 2004 graduate of Hornell high School, is a machine gunner in the 3rd Battalion Marine Division and was serving his second tour of duty when he was blown off the top of a Humvee by the bomb blast.
“He suffered a grade 3 concussion, some internal injuries, and cuts and abrasions,” said his father, Angelo Sciotti, alderman for the city's Fourth Ward. “He was unconscious after he was thrown from the vehicle.”
Based on the action - one member of Sciotti's unit was killed by a sniper during the incident - the Marine was awarded the Purple Heart for his injuries. It was presented to him at Camp Lejeune in mid-March, said his father.
“He's positive about it,” Sciotti said of his son. “I think the hardest thing was having someone in his group killed.
“It's nice,” he added of his own feelings about his son getting the Purple Heart, “but I'd rather not have had him injured, to be truthful.”
Sciotti is also up for a combat action award, but his father did not know when that decision might be made.
In the meantime, Sciotti is recovering and getting ready to go back to battle as he still has time left to serve to complete the four years active and two years inactive duty he signed up for.
“His first tour he wasn't injured,” Sciotti said of his son. “It bothers you, you get a sick feeling in your stomach when you hear that.”
He did praise the Marines for their handling of his son's injuries, as Sciotti said they left a phone number when they called to inform him about his son's situation.
“As soon as they would allow him to call, he called us,” he said. “They also found someone close to him - Greg Boccia from Canisteo (who is also in the Marines) - to come be with him.”
Angelo isn't the only Sciotti offspring to enlist in the Marines. His sister, Andrea Sciotti Rudenauer, a 2002 HHS graduate, enlisted in 2004 - about four months before her brother. She is a corporal and is stationed in Hawaii, where she is married and expecting her first child.
Ellie
By ROB MONTANA - STAFF WRITER
Three months after he suffered injuries from a roadside bomb blast, Angelo “Spike” Sciotti received the Purple Heart, recognizing his efforts while being wounded by a roadside bomb in December in Iraq.
LCpl. Sciotti, a 2004 graduate of Hornell high School, is a machine gunner in the 3rd Battalion Marine Division and was serving his second tour of duty when he was blown off the top of a Humvee by the bomb blast.
“He suffered a grade 3 concussion, some internal injuries, and cuts and abrasions,” said his father, Angelo Sciotti, alderman for the city's Fourth Ward. “He was unconscious after he was thrown from the vehicle.”
Based on the action - one member of Sciotti's unit was killed by a sniper during the incident - the Marine was awarded the Purple Heart for his injuries. It was presented to him at Camp Lejeune in mid-March, said his father.
“He's positive about it,” Sciotti said of his son. “I think the hardest thing was having someone in his group killed.
“It's nice,” he added of his own feelings about his son getting the Purple Heart, “but I'd rather not have had him injured, to be truthful.”
Sciotti is also up for a combat action award, but his father did not know when that decision might be made.
In the meantime, Sciotti is recovering and getting ready to go back to battle as he still has time left to serve to complete the four years active and two years inactive duty he signed up for.
“His first tour he wasn't injured,” Sciotti said of his son. “It bothers you, you get a sick feeling in your stomach when you hear that.”
He did praise the Marines for their handling of his son's injuries, as Sciotti said they left a phone number when they called to inform him about his son's situation.
“As soon as they would allow him to call, he called us,” he said. “They also found someone close to him - Greg Boccia from Canisteo (who is also in the Marines) - to come be with him.”
Angelo isn't the only Sciotti offspring to enlist in the Marines. His sister, Andrea Sciotti Rudenauer, a 2002 HHS graduate, enlisted in 2004 - about four months before her brother. She is a corporal and is stationed in Hawaii, where she is married and expecting her first child.
Ellie