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Title
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Ruberto, Donato
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Family name
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Ruberto
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Given name(s)
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Donato
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Gender
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Male
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Full biographical data
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Donato Ruberto (Cairano, province Avellino, Italy 27 July 1910- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA 1 December 1991). In Cairano he had been a skilled carpenter/cabinetmaker.
He was a sergeant in the 60th Infantry Division “Sabratha” (60ª Divisione di Fanteria “Sabratha”), in the 86th Infantry Regiment (86º Reggimento di Fanteria), the 2nd Battalion (II Battaglione), 8th Company. He had different prisoner of war numbers during his captivity:
• ME/229630 (in Middle East)
• T/22802 (in United Kingdom)
• 7WI3559 (in United States)
He was captured in Beda Littoria (today’s Bayda, Libya) on 4 February, 1941 and probably transferred to camp 308 (in Benghazi, Libya) until 26 April 1941. He was transferred to South Africa (27 April 1941) to the Zonderwater Camp until at least November, 1941. He was then transferred to the United Kingdom (documented in January 1942) where he passed through many camps: Camps 7, 9, 12, 17, and 40.
He was first brought to Camp 7 as early as 11 January 1942 and on 15 April 1942 he was transferred to Camp 40, with a stop at Camp 9 along the way. On 29 June 1942 he was transferred to Camp 12, where he stayed until 26 September 1942, at which point he was transferred to Camp 17 waiting for his transfer to the United States.
From 3 December to 13 December 1942, he traveled from the UK, through Halifax, Nova Scotia to Missouri, USA, where he stayed in Camp Clark until May 1944. While in Missouri, in July 1943, he is visited by his older brother, Pietro/Peter Ruberto, an American citizen living in Pittsburgh, PA who he had not seen in circa 32 years.
From 5 May and 7 May 1944, he travelled from Camp Clark, Missouri to Pine Camp, NY (Italian Service Unit, ISU). From 22-23 July 1944, he travelled from Pine Camp, NY to a camp in Lacerne Ohio (Italian Service Unit, ISU). Between 30 October and 3 November 1944, he travelled from Lacerne, Ohio to Benicia Arsenal, Benicia, California (ISU). From 3-5 September 1945, he travelled from Benicia, California to Ogden, Utah (ISU) which he left on 7 September 1945. Donato Ruberto arrived back to his village of Cairano, Italy on October 5 1945, at 2am, having walked on foot for at least the last 20 kilometers from the village of Lioni.
After postwar repatriation to Italy Ruberto continued his work as a cabinet maker until 1949. In July 1949, Ruberto left for Caracas, Venezuela where he worked as a day laborer. In December 1953, he left Venezuela and immigrated to the United States, specifically to Pittsburgh, PA. In November 1954, Donato Ruberto’s wife and their three youngest children emigrated through the U.S.’s Refugee Relief Act and joined him in Pittsburgh. In 1957 Ruberto’s oldest son emigrated as well. Donato Ruberto eventually joined a local union and worked as a carpenter on large buildings as well as building houses, additions, and miscellaneous household items for his extended family. He returned to visit Italy two times in his life and once he visited family in Venezuela. He also returned two time to Benicia (1986 circa and 1988 circa) where the local paper (Benicia Herald) covered his return.
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POW Number
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ME/229630 (in Middle East)
T/22802 (in United Kingdom)
7WI3559 (in United States)
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Honorific
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Sergeant
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Pre-Captivity Occupation
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carpenter
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Cabinet maker
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Post-Captivity occupation
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Cabinet maker
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labourer
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carpenter
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Birth date
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July 27, 1910
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Country of birth
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Italy
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Death date
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December 1, 1991
Such is Life/ Ma la vita è fatta cosi: an Italian American Woman’s Memoir by Leonilde Frieri Ruberto
‘Captive Expressions: The Wartime Experiences of Donato Ruberto’, Marinaro, Melissa E.
Fascicolo militare/Military file
POW Camp Zonderwater
