“Red” Mantini: Hero Of The 24th Infantry Division In Philippines

Angelo J. “Red” Mantini was hardly an angel growing up in the small coal-mining towns of western Pennsylvania in the 1930s. By his own admission he was kicked out of school more than once for being a troublemaker, a character trait that did not endear him to his teachers.
But the penchant he showed for getting into fights, along with the grit and savvy he possessed to win them, would serve him well during World War II on New Guinea and in the Philippines, where he proved to be as quick with the trigger on his Thompson submachine gun as he had been with his fists. Whether you stood on a dark street corner in America or pushed your way through the dense undergrowth of a sniper-infested jungle, Mantini was the kind of fighter you wanted to have on your side.