Bradys Bend veteran creates Memorial Day tribute to fallen warriors

May 22--Marine veteran Silvio Andreassi of Bradys Bend has been busy making crosses out of scrap wood in his garage to build a Memorial Day display for his front yard honoring those in the military who died serving America.

He made 50 of them -- painting each one white with the name of a state printed in crisp black lettering across the center.

"I just want people to know what these guys did -- what they have done for their country," Andreassi said.

Motorists slowed along Route 68 near his home across from St. Patrick's Catholic Church on Thursday to view the display that is visible from the road.

Row upon row of 2-foot-high crosses topped with fluttering U.S. flags were positioned in a precise grid on the manicured lawn. The cross representing Pennsylvania's fallen heroes stood front and center before a life-sized silhouette of a kneeling soldier.

That morning, Andreassi received word that his close friend, Sam Cassesse, of Bradys Bend, had died -- giving even more meaning to the 79-year-old's Memorial Day display. Cassesse served in the Air Force during World War II and the Korean War.

"It wasn't planned that way, but that's the way it's going to work," he said. "Sam was a fantastic guy. He was like a brother to me. He was the kind of friend you always hope to have."

Beyond the rows of crosses, a concrete bell was mounted to a flagpole -- made in 1976 by the late Gus Fontanini, a World War II veteran and another close friend to Andreassi.

Anthony Puzzuti, a retired Navy veteran and member of the Bradys Bend American Legion, walked across the lawn to check out Andreassi's labor of love.

"It's pretty impressive --he's got all the states here," Puzzuti said.

A number of family members -- Andreassi and his wife, Shirley, have seven children and 18 grandchildren -- helped set up the crosses and flags Wednesday evening.

Andreassi has designed displays in the past to acknowledge fallen warriors -- but never as many as this year. The idea occurred to him more than a few years ago when he and his wife traveled to Normandy while their daughter was serving in the Air Force overseas.

Visiting the gravesites of those who perished on the beaches of Normandy left a lasting impression on both of them, he said.

"It was very touching to see that -- to see the amount of crosses there of those who never made it back home," Shirley Andreassi said as she stood in her front yard beside her husband.

Brigid Beatty is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-543-1303 or bbeatty@tribweb.com.

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