John Robert Mannarino was born in the West End of Boston [Annotator's Note: Boston, Massachusetts]. He spoke Italian since childhood. He learned Latin in grammar school since the Roman Catholic Church said its masses in Latin at the time. In high school he studied Spanish and French. Later, he went to law school and became a lawyer. He also studied fine arts and music. When the war broke out, Mannarino was called up in November 1942 and reported to Fort Devens, Massachusetts. It became apparent that he would not make a good foot soldier, but the Army needed his law and language background so he wound up in Maryland for some training. During his physical, he was diagnosed with labile hypertension and the doctor said he would note that he should not be sent overseas. However, Mannarino wanted to go. He was afraid he would die and he figured he might as well die far away so his mother would not have to cry over him. He was shipped overseas on a Greek ship called the Nea Hellas, which they called the Near Hell because it smelled bad. Mannarino was sick for two weeks on the ship. They landed in Algeria. None of the officers spoke a word of French, which was spoken by the Arabs in Algeria. He ended up translating between French and English. He got malaria [Annotator's Note: disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito which feeds on humans] three times while in Algeria. He then went to Tunisia where he came down with malaria again. They crossed the Mediterranean to Italy and arrived in Sicily. None of the officers spoke Italian. His officer was a wonderful man, a colonel from New Jersey. On one occasion he translated for the cardinal of Palermo [Annotator's Note: Palermo, Sicily]. One night, bombs were dropped in the area and Mannarino, who was a lousy soldier, thought they were fireworks. A soldier he was with told him he was an idiot. That same soldier soiled himself from fear of the bombing. Mannarino once met an Italian princess during his duties, and she wanted to take him to dinner. Her driver picked him up in a limousine. She let him choose all kinds of food which he shared with others. He later helped a man get to Naples from Palermo, as they needed a pass to do so. He promised to name his firstborn child after Mannarino, which he did, confirmed by a letter years later. The child, named Giovanna for John, attended his 100th birthday party.

John Robert Mannarino [Annotator's Note: serving as a translator for the US Army in Palermo, Sicily] spoke fluent Italian, French, and Spanish. He could do whatever he wanted. He had local friends. There was a nearby convent that sold homemade cannoli. He noticed many poor, starving women in the area. He asked the nuns at the convent how they got bread, sugar and eggs while these women were starving. He was no longer allowed to buy cannoli from them. Mannarino made it to Rome [Annotator's Note: Rome, Italy], which was untouched by German bombs. He was there for Easter [Annotator's Note: 1 April 1945]. He was ordered to take around a group of British officers who did not speak Italian. He took them to Saint Peter's Basilica. When the Germans occupied Italy, they were told not to bomb Rome. One day, 40 or so German officers were killed by a bomb set off by the Italians. The Germans ordered ten Italian men killed for every German killed. They put them in a cave and blew it up. It was declared a national cemetery. Mannarino took his friends there to see it. He then went to Genoa [Annotator's Note: Genoa, Italy] where another high-ranking general did not understand a word of Italian, so Mannarino was sent to him. He was treated well and fed by a local prince.

John Robert Mannarino [Annotator's Note: serving as a translator for the US Army in Italy] was the only one who spoke Italian. He was also the only one who spoke French in Algeria. [Annotator's Note: Mannarino sings in Italian.] He is now a lawyer. The law is important to him but he also loves fine arts and music. He spent a total of three years in the Army, five or six months of that in North Africa. American Army food was good compared to what the British got. He made a deal with a British soldier named Ray to trade good, American food for him playing classical piano. On the base, they had a big tent where movies would be shown. People hated the Arabs there, which Mannarino did not approve of. They were from the land of the free. Mannarino's superior officer was a gentleman and a scholar, a wonderful man from New Jersey. Mannarino entered service in November 1942 and was discharged from Fort Devens [Annotator's Note: Fort Devens, Massachusetts] in November 1945. By the time Mannarino arrived in each location, the hostilities were over, though they were sometimes bombed. He served with the American Military Government [Annotator's Note: Allied Military Government (AMG)] which would set up a fire department, police department, fine arts department, etc.

John Robert Mannarino [Annotator's Note: after serving as a translator for the US Army in North Africa and Italy] left Europe from Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy]. He was ready to go home and wanted to see his parents. When he was in Palermo [Annotator's Note: Palermo, Sicily, Italy], they were occasionally bombed. War is hell. Mannarino would collect candy and give it out to the kids in Palermo. His wartime experience made him proud of his American citizenship and Italian background. The war changed the world, especially the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] dropped on Hiroshima. Mannarino never carried a weapon during the war.