Born: March 1, 1921
Died: 2004
Campaigns Served: Namur, Saipan (wounded)
Highest Rank Attained: Corporal
Decorations: Purple Heart
With Dog Company:
Private First Class Anthony Pramberger was a member of Dog Company, 24th Marines. He served with the First Machine Gun Platoon; in the fall of 1943 he was placed in command of a squad manning a Browning M1917 water-cooled machine gun. Pramberger fought in the battle of Namur, and was transferred to Able Company in the spring of 1944.
With Able Company:
Pramberger was promoted to corporal; he led a squad consisting of gunners Luca Durante and Dominick Piccolomini, and ammunition carriers Lawrence Jaster, Aldo Passante, William Savoy, and Alan Smith. The men trained with Able Company's machine gun platoon at Camp Maui, and landed on Saipan on June 15, 1944.
During days in combat, the former heavy gunners carried the lighter Browning M1919 weapons; at night, when positions were fixed for nighttime defense, the heavier weapons were brought up and emplaced. Pramberger's squad set up in position on the night of June 16, but were spotted by alert Japanese troops. A swift attack obliterated their position; every member of the squad was wounded, with Smith eventually dying of his wounds. The squad spent a terrifying time waiting for rescue, as initial attempts were broken up by Japanese shellfire.
Eventually, the survivors were rescued, and all were evacuated. Anthony Pramberger was treated at Fleet Hospital 108 on Guadalcanal; he never returned to the company.
Pramberger died in Queens, New York, in 2004.