Wilton WWII veteran honored by county
BALLS TONS PA, N.Y. » A highly decorated Wilton man who took part in the invasion of Italy during World War II was remembered Tuesday during Honoring Our Deceased Veterans ceremonies at Saratoga County offices in Ballston Spa.
James Lant was a squad leader with the U.S. Army’s 337th Infantry Regiment, which participated in the Rome-Arno, North Apennines and Po Valley campaigns.
“The regiment saw heavy combat attacking the Germans’ Gustav and Gothic lines as they moved north up the Italian peninsula during Operation Diadem,” said Frank McClement, Saratoga County Veterans Service Agency director. “James served with distinction as he was ultimately promoted to the rank of staff sergeant. His actions during those days in Italy, and his life’s work thereafter define the meaning of the coined term ‘Greatest Generation’.”
For his service, Lant was awarded the Bronze Star, Good
Conduct Medal, European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with three Bronze Campaign Stars, and the American Theater Ribbon.
Returning home, he was extremely active in the community -- a member of American Legion Post 70, Gurtler Brothers Post 420 VFW, and the Dominick Smaldone Italian American War Veterans Post 35. He also belonged to Wilton Senior Citizens, Friends of Grant Cottage, owned and raced many harness horses over the years at Saratoga Raceway, and owned a small business, Lant’s Auto Sales, which he operated from 1960-2000.
Lant and his wife, Kathleen, had five children -John, a Wilton town councilman; James, Jerry, Karen and Bobbi.
“Our father was a plain guy, a very simple guy, who worked hard to provide for us,” John Lant said. “He was a proud veteran. I know he’d be very proud of this.”
Officials presented family members with several citations and awards including a state Senate Liberty Medal, the state’s highest honor; a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.; and an official White House proclamation signed by President Donald Trump.
McClement told how Lant entered active duty service on May 16, 1942. In December 1943, after months of training, Lant and the rest of his regiment departed the U.S. aboard the HMS Andes, and after eight days at sea, landed at Casablanca, North Africa, where they spent the next two months training in Algeria in amphibious operations.
“In March 1944, the 337th Regiment, along with the entire 85th Division would sail across the Mediterranean to Naples, Italy,” McClement said. “After a solid year hard fighting, the German forces in Italy surrendered on May 2, 1945.”
McClement pointed out that the Italian campaign is quite overlooked when people remember the liberation of Europe, highlighted by the Allied invasion of France on D-Day -- June 6, 1944.
“Two months before DDay, James and the entire 85th Infantry Division were thrown against elite German ground troops; plus the Luftwaffe and its fierce fighting paratroopers, the Falls chirm jägers or ‘ parachute hunters’,” he said. “They also shattered a long standing myth of inferiority of drafted troops in the U.S. military, which began in the Civil War.”
“After release from active duty, James continued the hard work he started so young,” McClement said. “He would operate a business, raise a family, and serve his community.”