Dates
- 1942-2022
- Majority of material found within 1943-1946
Scope and Contents
Perrotta Family Wartime Correspondence consists of the correspondence between Lawrence J. Perrotta (08/10/1909 - 05/17/1992) and Yolanda Perrotta (02/21/1917 - 01/13/2020), as well as their family members, neighbors, and friends, from the mid-to-late stages of World War II. The collection comprises personal letters, newspaper clippings, framed and pocket-sized photographs, U.S. Army documents, holiday cards, and biographical journal entries, all contributing to the narrative of Lawrence and Yolanda's decades-long relationship. Some of the themes covered in this collection include early to mid-20th-century life in Northern New Jersey towns and cities (e.g., Nutley and Newark), World War II communication, the impact of World War II on American culture and media, early to mid-20th-century postcard culture, and First-Generation Italian-American Family life in the early to mid-20th century. The majority of items in the collection are from the time period between early 1942 and 1946.
Extent
2.5 Linear Feet (5 letter-sized manuscript boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Biographical / Historical
In the spring of 1943, Yolanda Anne Liloia Perrotta of Nutley, NJ (02/21/1917 - 01/13/2020) was introduced by a mutual friend to a young soldier and NYU graduate from the Bronx, NY, named Lawrence Joseph Perrotta (08/10/1909 - 05/17/1992), and it was "love at first sight." Unbeknownst to them at the time, Lawrence would suddenly be re-enlisted back into the armed forces as the US “called back” anyone who had been discharged within three months--Lawrence was discharged, ironically, on December 7th, 1941, the day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Lawrence’s sudden re-enlisting back into the Army did not stifle the spark between him and Yolanda, as they would begin writing letters back and forth from the time he was re-enlisted in 1943 and traversing through significant life milestones, such as, Yolanda and Lawrence’s marriage in January 13th, 1945, Lawrence’s war-time injury during the Batlte of Remagen in March 8th, 1945, and the birth of their first daughter, Laura Jean, in March 19th, 1946.
Following Lawrence’s discharge from the Army on July 24th, 1946, he returned and settled with Yolanda in Nutley, New Jersey, where they would have two other daughters, Mary Anne and Yolanda Anne. Lawrence was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star upon his return to New Jersey from service. He subsequently started an accounting business and an insurance agency in Nutley, as well as multiple CPA businesses throughout Essex, Hudson, and Bergen counties. Yolanda worked as a bookkeeper and stenographer for several years at the F.W. Woolworth retail chain store in Newark, and eventually assisted with the payroll at Lawrence’s businesses. Lawrence and Yolanda would live the rest of their lives alongside their family in the city of Nutley, NJ, becoming staples of the community with memberships in local organizations like the Nutley Chamber of Commerce and Nutley-Belleville Italian Fiorente Society, and receiving community distinctions, such as Lawrence’s title as Grand Marshall for the 1952 Nutley Memorial Day parade.
Important Dates and Historical events
Yolanda's family one of the 16 pioneers who helped build Nutley in 1900.
Lawrence was born August 9, 1909 in the Bronx and died May 17, 1992 in Nutley.
Yolanda was born February 21, 1917 in Nutley and died January 13, 2020 in Bloomfield; third oldest of 9 children (seven boys and two girls). Father born in Avellino and Mother born in Newark.
1930s - Worked as a clerk at FW Woolworth on Broad Street, Newark after high school.
1935-1941 - Lawrence J. Perrotta was a public account/taxwork/wholesale mail business.
Lawrence entered active duty on April 22, 1941 and momentarily discharged December 7, 1941.
Spring 1943 - Yolanda and Lawrence met through a mutal friend. He was called back into the army as were many others after Pearl harbor bombing.
October 16, 1942 - Lawrence J. Perrotta enlist into US Army.
23 months - 1st Lieutenant - Anti-Aircraft Automatic Weapons Unit commander (1174) - 545th AAF battalion, assisted the battery commander with combat duties, supervised training, gave instructions in all basic miliary subjects, supervised and directed the requisition and distribution of supplies.
1 Month - 1st Lieutenant - Infantry Unit Commander (1542).
American bases he was stationed at/took courses:
Anti-Aircraft Artillery School, Camp Davis, N.C.- Officer Candidate: July 11th, 1942 - October 16th 1942
Anti-aircraft Artillery School, Camp Davis, N.C.- Officer Automatic Weapons Course: June 7th 1943 - July 19th 1943
The Infantry School, Ft. Benning, Ga - Officer Special Basic Course: October 27th 1944 - December 24th 1944
Anti-Aircraft School, Ft. Tottem, NY - Anti-aircraft Weapons Refresher Course: September 20th 1943 - October 25th 1943
January 13th, 1945 - Lawrence and Yolanda are married.
March 8th, 1945 - Lawrence J. Perrotta wounded in Battle of Remagen mission at the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine River in Germany. Seven surgeries in an English Army Hospital. Was later awarded a purple heart, bronze star.
June 1945 - Lawrence is sent back to the US to recuperate.
March 19th, 1946 - Yolanda and Lawrence have their first daughter, Laura Jean (had two other daughters - Mary Anne and Yolanda Anne).
April 1946 - Lawrence transferred to Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
July 24th, 1946 - Lawrence J. Perrotta de-enlists in the US Army.
Lawrence had an accounting business and insurance agency after service; member of Nutley Chamber of Commerce, Stuart E. Edgar Post of VFW, and Nutley-Belleville Italian Fiorente Society; small businesses in Essex, Bergen, and Hudson County as a CPA.
Honored as a Grand Marshall for 1952 Nutley Memorial Day parade.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into five series:
1. Letters to Yolanda from L
2. Letters to Lawrence from Y
3. Letters to L and Y from relatives and friends
4. Photographs
5. Biographical information
The vast majority of the collection consists of correspondence between Yolanda and Lawrence. Series 1 is titled Letters to Yolanda Liloia Perrotta from Lawrence J. Perrotta (1943 - 1946), and Series 2 is titled War-time Letters - Letters to 1st Lieutenant Lawrence J. Perrotta from Yolanda Liloia Perrotta (1943 - 1946). Organized by their daughters, Laura Perrota Ross and Mary Perrota, the letters in these series shape the narrative arc of the relationship between Lawrence J. Perrotta and Yolanda Perrotta, starting from the early years of their long distance courtship in 1943 and marking significant events in their lives, such as, their eventual marriage in January 1945, Lawrence’s severe army-related injury in March 1945, which led to his eventual discharge from the army, and finally, the birth of their first child in Laura Jean in Spring 1946. The letters within these two shoeboxes are organized and separated by year, but are not always organized in chronological order by month. Along with providing the narrative arc of their relationship, these letters also include personal ephemera from both Yolanda and Lawrence that attest to their efforts to show affection and bridge geographical distances between them, and importantly, mark significant milestones and events in their respective relationships and world affairs at large. Some of these items vary from a 1946 San Antonio Missions playbill, a 1946 newspaper article focused on the difficulty of naming children, Valentine’s Day and New Baby greeting cards, a 1945 “Get Well Card,” and a 1945 UK 1-pound currency bill.
Series 3, in the box entitled Letters from Friends, Neighbors, and Various Family Members (1943-1946), contains letters from friends, colleagues, and family members reaching out to either Yolanda or Lawrence. Most of the contents of these letters involve either keeping Yolanda or Lawrence up to date on the sender’s respective life or inquiring about how Yolanda or Lawrence were managing their long-distance relationship or marriage during Lawrence's military tenure. Apart from the letters, there’s also a 1945 telegram alerting Yolanda of Lawrence’s war injury in the Battle of Remagen (Germany), an insurance policy form sent by a Veterans Administration Office due to Lawrence’s injury, and an article in the Jan. 26, 1945, Nutley Sun Newspaper highlighting Lawrence and Yolanda’s marriage.
Series 4, packaged in a ziplock bag titled Photos (1942-2022), contains three framed photos and a photograph in an envelope. The three picture frames contain four pictures of Yolanda: a picture of Yolanda at 86 years old, a 2022 artistic drawing of Yolanda at 86 by her great-granddaughter, Celeste Thompson; another frame with a picture from February 1944; and the other on her wedding day in January 1945. The photograph in the small envelope is a 1942 photograph of Lawrence in his lieutenant's uniform.
Series 5, Biographical Information, regarding Yolanda Liloia Perrotta and Lawrence J. Perrotta, contains comprehensive typed notes, personal journal entries, and documents that outline the definitive history of both Yolanda and Lawrence, respectively. These contents are stored in a three pronged folder and include, but not limited to, a detailed supplemental notes contextualizing the WWII battle that Lawrence received injuries ffrom (The Battle of Remagen), a Separation Qualification Record Form Lawrence received from the US Army, a typed handout including excerpts from the letters sent between Lawrence and Yolanda during WWII, Yolanda’s obiturary, and 25 journal pages from Yolanda’s writings of her life story. This section is vital for gaining a proper sense of the historical time period that Lawrence and Yolanda’s relationship traversed, as well as a list of essential and recurring names of family members and friends that appear throughout their letters.
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Kehinde Alonge
- Date
- 7/24/25
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Sponsor
- The creation of this finding aid was made possible by an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.
Part of the New Brunswick Special Collections Repository