Anthony “Tony” J. Auletta, Sr.

Anthony Joseph Auletta “Tony” Sr. most recently of Fairfax Virginia passed peacefully into Heaven after a brief illness with family at his side in the early hours of November 21, 2016. Tony remained the devoted and loving husband of the love-of-his-life Anna for 63 years who survives him. Tony was the loving, dedicated, teaching, inspiring father who was the springboard for the accomplishments of his 3 sons Anthony Jr., Vincent, and Richard. As a father-in-law he adored and shared in the love of his devoted daughter-in-laws Alicia and Julia. “Poppop” was a loving and doting grandfather of his granddaughter Annie and grandson Alex. Tony and Anna Warchol shared an immediate and unwavering love and will be reunited in their love in Heaven by a shared Catholic faith in the Savior. Meeting on a blind date and after just 4 dates they were married in March 1953. During their marriage Tony’s US Army service took Anna and his boys to postings at Fort Gordon, GA, Scofield Barracks, HI, and finally in 1961 to the Pentagon. Tony and Anna resided in the family’s Alexandria, VA home until he and Anna moved to Fairfax, VA in 2010.A native of New York City, Tony graduated from New York University in 1942 Pre-Med BA. He entered active military service as an Army Second Lieutenant with the ROTC class June 1942. Tony would go on to have a long and distinguished military service spanning World War II and the Korean Conflict until retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1965. He continued his dedicated service to America in Military Civil Affairs with the Department of Defense retiring as a Branch Chief in 1994. A warfighter of our nation’s greatest generation, his first service was with the 100th Infantry Division CONUS. In 1944 he entered the European Theater of Operations ETO with the 44th Infantry Division in France. He was awarded the Bronze Star for actions against an armed enemy in February 1945. Following the defeat of the Axis Powers, First Lieutenant Auletta served in the ETO until 1948 helping return local government operations. In Bavaria he acted as the Operations Plans Officer for the Office of Military Government, European Civil Affairs Division. In Caportetto, Italy, he supported the Allied Military Government as the Venezia Giulia Detachment Commander. His last post-war billet in the ETO was as Regional Administrative Officer, Allied Military Government in the Free Territory of Trieste. In 1951 Tony was recalled to active duty for the Korean emergency with the 401st Civil Affairs Company USAR. He was assigned as an instructor at the Provost Marshals General’s School at Ft. Gordon, GA. From July 1953 through January 1955, now Major Auletta was assigned to the Civil Affairs Section of the HQ Communication Zone, Korea. For his meritorious service of 1953 -1954, he was awarded his Bronze Star First Oak Leaf Cluster.Following his Korean War service, Tony continued in a wide range of Civil Affairs assignments as a Major and finally as a Lieutenant Colonel. Immediately following service in Korea, he was assigned to the G5 Section, HQ USARPAC. In 1961 Tony joined the Office of the Chief of Civil Affairs at the Pentagon. In 1962 he became the Chief of the Civic Action Branch of ODCSOPS when the Office of the Chief of Civil Affairs reorganized into a Directorate of ODCSOPS. Later he became Chief of the Plans and Policy Division of the Civil Affairs Directorate, ODCSOPS. He held that post until he retired from active military service in June 1965. Tony’s civilian service to America started later that year as a Consultant for Natural Disaster and Resource Planning, Executive Office of the President, Office of Emergency Preparedness, Region 2. In early 1966, he rejoined the Civil Affairs Directorate, ODCSOPS. In 1968, Anthony was assigned to the Civil Affairs Branch of the Security Operations Division of the newly established International and Civil Affairs Directorate, ODCSOPS and its successor staff agencies including DAMO-OD and ODP. He served as a Foreign Affairs Officer, Military Support Specialist, and retired in 1994 as Chief, Civil Branch. His duties took him to Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and South America. Over this 28 year DoD Military Civil Affairs career, Tony supported actions reorganizing and deploying of forces during the Vietnam era, training and doctrine development, and the DoD’s role in natural disasters. When Skylab fell to earth in 1979, he was part of the “Chicken Little” team tracking and planning DoDs response to this potential disaster. He authored the “Ten Nation Progress Report” published in ARMY Vol 13 July 1963 and provided oral history contributions in Winning the Peace The Strategic Implications of Military Civil Action 1992, and After Desert Storm: The United States Army and the Reconstruction of Kuwait 1999. His service was recognized with many major Civilian Awards including the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service, Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, and the Meritorious Civilian Service Award. In 1975 he was honored by the Civil Affairs Association as the recipient of the Eli E. Nobleman Annual Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Civil Affairs.With his life-long-love Anna, Tony enjoyed a long and active retirement. Central to this was their travel to Florida to visit his grandchildren, eldest son, and daughter-in-law. Though a reluctant traveler, once on his way, Tony loved it. Together they traveled and cruised the Canadian Rockies, Russia, Egypt and the Pyramids, Israel, Italy, and Turkey. When not traveling Tony and Anna were never far apart except when he was running errands in his Jeep Briarwood which he loved. Tony continued his pursuits as a handy-man taking care of his home, a car-guy tending his Cadillac Seville and Jeep over the years, and gardener creating a Japanese garden and Koi pond he built with his family over many summers and that he and Anna enjoyed during evenings at home. Tony was no ordinary handyman. He was a craftsman. He always had a project going. He renovated the family home’s basement to create his woodshop. He designed and remodeled Anna’s kitchen moving the door, expanding windows, and creating the space where every evening the family would come together over dinner as his sons grew-up during the turbulent late 60’s and 70’s, went on to college, their own families, and careers. As a skilled Italian cook, dinner was often prepared side by side with Anna. Beyond the kitchen, he created the formal living room and dining room that hosted so many happy birthday, anniversary, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas dinner gatherings with his family. Tony relished building it yourself rather than buying it. As he tended his Japanese garden and expanded his Koi pond, he cast his own classical pagoda in concrete and designed and built his own filtration system. In their rose garden he and Anna enjoyed a fountain that he also had cast himself. Whether it was adding the covered patio to the home, building a mahogany couch for the family room, model train layout or slot car track for his sons, or a custom shelf for his granddaughter’s collection of model horses, he had a passion for creating as an expression of love for his family. Far beyond these projects, he expressed his love with his pride, belief, and life-long encouragement of his sons as they found their way in the world. He was a father who was always there for his sons. Smiling with pride in their successes and standing with each in any adversity. In each of his sons, he was able to see his interests in doing-it-yourself from cooking to cars carried on. Tony’s unconditional love and support for Anna and his boys is our role model for our family together weathering anything life might bring. Tony’s interests from this youth continued as he raised his family. As a young man he was an avid photographer. He preserved many of our family celebration memories with his Leica 35MM and Bolex 16MM movie camera. He was a fisherman and skier and saw his sons pursue similar interests. From his youth to his passing, Tony enjoyed a full and accomplished life loved by family and friends. A life with the riches of one true and lasting love, the un-wavering respect and love of 3 sons, the joy of being a grandfather, and respect and admiration of his friends, colleagues, and comrades in arms while serving America for more than 50 years.Tony was preceded in death by his father Joseph; mother Carmela, and brother Dominick. He is survived by his loving wife Anna Marie; his eldest son Anthony Jr. and his wife Alicia and his cherished grandchildren Annie and Alex; his son Vincent and his wife Julia; and his youngest son Richard.Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Joseph Auletta Sr. will be remembered, honored, and interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Arrangements are pending.