After having to leave Lockport Township High School in 1943 to serve in World War II, Ronald Pesavento finally has his high school diploma.
On Dec. 19, the Lockport Township High School Board of Education presented Pesavento with his diploma while Pesavento’s two children, Tony and Melissa, watched with tears in their eyes. They knew how much the LTHS diploma meant to their father.
“I’m so glad to finally have it,” Pesavento said after the ceremony. “This was a long time coming.”
Pesavento — known as Reno by all his friends and family — was born in 1924 in Lockport to Italian immigrant parents. He attended Sacred Heart School (now St. Dennis) before moving on to Lockport Township High School.
Along with many of his classmates, Pesavento was drafted and ordered to serve on May 18, 1943 with the United States Army. He completed basic training on Oct 2, 1943 at Camp Roberts, California and later spent time in the Mohave Desert as well as Hilo, Hawaii.
Pesavento served with the 819th Tank Destroyer Battalion, Company A as a cannoneer, radio operator and assistant driver. The 819th were prepared to disembark to Europe to assist forces overseas but on Aug. 14, 1946, they received the news that the Japanese were willing to accept peace terms. Within months, the men were on their way home and he was honorably discharged on Jan. 20, 1946.
The men in the 819th Batallion were awarded the Asiatic Pacific Theater Ribbon with one Bronze Star for participation in the Western Pacific Campaign. Pesavento also received the Good Conduct Medal and WWII Victory Medal and was considered an expert marksman with a 30 caliber carbine.
After the Army, Pesavento met Laura Cullen, also born and raised in Lockport. They built their first home on Division Street when it was still just dirt and gravel. In 1971, they moved to 13th Street by Lockport Central and have been there ever since. He became an operating engineer with Local 150 and retired in 1989 and focused on his family and many special projects.
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