Andy as he was known by his family and friends enlisted in the Army on July 10, 1941. Being a Ranger, he has always been amoung the first ashore in an invasion. He was with the first to land in Africa, went on for the capture of Sicily, and helped to pioneer the way for the U.S. and British forces in Italy. He volunteered to go to England to help train the invasion forces there and was in the thick of the first stages of the battle of Normandy early in June. On July 5th, Andy wrote to his parents from France and in part we quote the letter: "I hope you haven't been worried too much about me As long as my luck holds out there really isn't anything to worry about, and if it shouldn't hold out, what's the difference. It's all in a day's work." It also went on to say "It's pretty cold in France. We've had a few rain baths, but they ain't so good. This excerpt was from one of Sgt. Tapparo's last letters, tried to reassure his parents that he was all right, even though he was in one of the most dangerous spots the world has even known. Andy was the youngest of 7 children.