Top-secret service finally recognized
Vet kept mum for six decades
By Tom Davidson
THE HERALD (SHARON, Pa.)
SHARON, Pa. Ñ Dominic MarlettoÕs recipe for heroism was kept a secret for more than six decades.
Parts of it were revealed Sunday when Marletto, 90, of Hermitage, was the man of the hour at a ceremony amid the grassy fields and picnic grounds of Fort Hunt Park, Va.
Today, it resembles Buhl Farm Park, but the land where Fort Hunt Park is located has been an integral part of American history since George Washington first farmed these marshy grounds near Mount Vernon in the 18th century.
Remnants of gun batteries built on the shore of the Potomac River to protect the nationÕs capitol from a naval attack during the Spanish American War are still visible, but most everything else has been lost to history.
ÒIf these grounds could talk, they would have something to say about all parts of American history,Ó said David Vela, superintendent of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the grounds of which include Fort Hunt.
But the ground has remained silent and the last men who served here during the Second World War were sworn to secrecy.
ItÕs an oath they kept until about 3 years ago. Until then, all that was known about Fort Hunt was that it was used as a prisoner-of-war camp identified only by a P.O. Box. It was presumed that the men who served here didnÕt want to share their stories or died before they had the chance to tell them, said Vincent L. Santucci, chief ranger of the park.
While lamenting the loss of this period of the parkÕs history during a tour, someone in the crowd said his neighbor probably served as an interrogator at the fort, known as P.O. Box 1142.
This find led to another man, who led to another. It became a quest for the parkÕs cultural resource manager, Brandon Bies.
Just last week, they located another surviving veteran. Marletto was located earlier this year.
Marletto was among those who served here. He headed up KP duties, otherwise known as kitchen patrols.
For non-military types, that means he was a boss in the fortÕs mess hall, or kitchen.
But he did more than peel potatoes.
He also pulled occasional guard duty and witnessed one captured Nazi U-Boat commanderÕs foiled escape attempt.
Stories like MarlettoÕs are what the park rangers are trying to preserve, Vela said.
To Òbring a little-known story of American history to life and light,Ó he said.
Over the last few years Bies has often called Vela with a new tale.
ÒDave, youÕll never believe what weÕve found out,Ó Vela said Bies says at these times.
TheyÕre Òstories that will blow your mind,Ó he said.
The actions of the men who served at P.O. Box 1142 Òchanged the courseÓ of the war and provided information to Americans that affected the Cold War and the space race, Vela said.
Santucci puts it differently.
What went on at the fort is ÒJames Bond-type stuff,Ó Santucci said.
Mainly high level German POWs were confined at the fort and interrogated using methods that might not meet the standards of the Geneva Conventions, Santucci said. According to the parkÕs Web site, prisoners were held incommunicado, questioned incessantly and monitored by hidden microphones.
Bies, the man who has worked to unearth most of the stories, said their importance ÒcanÕt be underestimated.Ó
Knowledge gained by the interrogators who worked there helped stop U-234, a submarine loaded with rockets and knowledge the Germans were going to give to the Japanese even as the defeated Nazis surrendered.
Marletto and most of his family smiled as they listened to the story of the fort and its role in World War II.
The men who served here are Òvery humbleÓ about what they did, Bies said, but sharing their secrets now that they are at least octogenarians seems to have rejuvenated some of them.
And finding more of these men is the only way the whole story about the fort can be told. The information was declassified by the government in spurts starting in the late1970s and continuing into 2000, but most of it isnÕt on paper.
ÒThe only people who have the information is the veterans themselves,Ó Bies said.
ÒThe human side of this has been so much fun,Ó Santucci said.
He collected MarlettoÕs story and it as part of the oral history project that aims to preserve the legacy of P.O. Box 1142. He praised men like Marletto whoÕve been Òholding all these things insideÓ all these years, even keeping their stories from their families.
ÒThey never knew that what they did was so important,Ó he said. ÒHe came here and stood the line and held a gun.Ó
What Marletto and men like him did at Fort Hunt was celebrated at SundayÕs ceremony.
Eight exhibit panels were officially unveiled that help to tell the story and Bies said the oral histories gathered will be archived and made available to the public when the project is finished. Plans are also in the works to open a small visitorÕs center to preserve the legacy of the men who served here.
Tom Davidson writes for The Herald in Sharon, Pa.
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