During the long months of a historic deployment, U.S. Navy Master-at-Arms Second Class Santino Roccuzzo was never far away from home.
Roccuzzo’s South Philly community made sure their favorite military man was always at the forefront of their thoughts and prayers as the crew on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln protected the freedoms of civilians back home.
The signs of appreciation came in several different varieties.
“I got a lot of letters from the schools,” Roccuzzo said. “My parents and my friends sent me mail. It was a full day of reading mail sometimes. It was a long workday. But when you think about it and what’s going on, you got people back home that really care. That’s the stuff that keeps you going.”
Roccuzzo received letters from students at a pair of South Philly schools — Our Lady of Hope School on Jackson Street and St. Pio Catholic Regional School on Pollock Street. Santino’s mother, Shawn Gallo-Roccuzzo, works at both schools as a physical education teacher but the idea to write Santino came from the staff and administration from both schools.
“Santino is a graduate of our school,” said Patty Cody, principal of Our Lady of Hope. “We just wanted to do everything we possibly could to support Santino, the crew of the Abraham Lincoln and the family. We surprised Shawn one day with everyone dressed in red on one Friday and the kids wrote letters and made a video and sent it to him and prayed for him every day.”
Those small gestures don’t go unnoticed.
“I got people back here rooting for me every single day,” Roccuzzo said. “These people here got me through a lot. It’s what pushed me through.”
The U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln spent 322 days away including 286 days at sea and 208 days without a port call. The carrier spent about 200 days supporting U.S. operations against Iran, and spent more than 40 days on continuous combat operations in the Middle East.
The long time away took a mental toll on many of the thousands of sailors aboard the ship.
“It was hard,” Roccuzzo said. “And I don’t have a family with kids or a wife. I don’t have any of those things. But it’s hard doing the same thing every single day for 322 days knowing that I missed birthdays and I missed the birth of my nephew. I missed my mom’s birthday and my dad’s birthday and holidays. All those memorable moments that you miss — it started to get rough for me at nine or 10 months. I wanted to get home.”
Roccuzzo’s ship finally arrived stateside in San Diego on Oct. 8 and he returned home to Philadelphia on Oct. 20. Four days later, Santino’s family and neighbors threw him a bash on S. 12th Street in Lower Moyamensing to show their appreciation.
“I invited the whole city,” Shawn Gallo-Roccuzzo said. “I put it on social media. Just come. Even if you don’t know us, just come. Who do you know from South Philly from the local schools that go to war defending our country? We’re so proud of him.”
The Roccuzzos certainly enjoy their time together. Before Santino’s deployment, the family celebrated several holidays at once.
“We had Thanksgiving and Christmas combined and a little bit of Halloween,” Santino said with a laugh. “My mom wanted to do the whole thing because she knew she wasn’t going to see me in December so we celebrated everything.”
It helped prepare Shawn for Santino’s second deployment, but his long absence made her turn to her religion.
“This brought me to my knees,” Shawn said. “I’ve always been Catholic and in touch with God, but this really brought me to my knees. My husband is a wonderful man and I go to him for everything, but he couldn’t help me through this. Nobody could. My faith helped me 100-percent.”
Once Santino returned, there was an immediate family celebration at the house. A home-cooked meal was just what the doctor ordered.
“I ate my mom’s homemade Italian food — chicken cutlets,” said Santino, a 2017 Neumann-Goretti graduate. “My dad makes a great braciole. We’re all Sicilian. A nice braciole with a little bit of gravy and pasta. Oh my God. Then I took a nice nap. I passed out.”
Santino visited St. Pio and Our Lady of Hope in full uniform on Oct. 23 to show his appreciation for the care packages and mail.
“They were so excited,” Cody said. “The littles wanted to know how he got such big muscles. The PreK-4 wanted to know where the ship was and he had so much information to share. It’s so great for them to see someone who came from where they are and see all that he has accomplished.”
So far.
Roccuzzo said he’s ready for the call to defend the country at any time, especially if he continues to have the support from back home.
“When freedom calls, freedom calls,” he said. “This deployment would not have been as successful as it was if it was not for the support from everyone. It’s what makes you want to fight and be there. It’s huge. Don’t ever stop supporting the troops.” ••
