Roosevelt Avenue in North Brunswick is now also known as Lettieri Way in honor of World War II veteran Louis Lettieri. Pictured (l-r) are Lou Ann Benson, director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services; Councilwoman Cathy Nicola; Councilman Bob Davis; Louis’s wife Angela; their son, Thomas; Thomas’s wife, Colleen; Councilman Carlo Socio; and North Brunswick firefighter Corey Blake. PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAIG YETSKO NORTH BRUNSWICK — Roosevelt Avenue will now be known as Lettieri Way.
Louis Michael Lettieri was honored by the Township Council with the posting of a secondary street sign on June 29, as part of the township’s Veteran Street Sign Program.
Lettieri was born Jan. 26, 1920, in Manhattan, New York.
He served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army in Company C of the 783rd Military Police Battalion as a military policeman, participating in the Normandy Invasion in 1944.
He traveled to England on the Queen Mary, which had been converted to a troop ship.
He served in the European Theatre, France and Belgium during World War II and was honorably discharged at Fort Dix in November 1945.
Upon Lettieri’s return to the States, he finished his higher education at St. John’s University, graduating magna cum laude in 1951 and received his Master’s Degree from Columbia University in 1952.
Lettieri married Angela Viscardi in 1949 and lived in Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York. They were married for 39 years and had three sons, Paul and his wife Linda, Thomas and his wife Colleen, and Robert and his wife Judith; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
The Lettieris moved to North Brunswick in 1966, facilitated by Lettieri’s employment at Rutgers University, first as a senior accountant and eventually as assistant controller. He retired from Rutgers in 1988.
Lettieri was a member of the U.S. Bicentennial Committee, North Brunswick Bicentennial Committee, North Brunswick Historical Society, North Brunswick Memorial Day Committee, the Cranbury Housing Association and the Consolata Society for Foreign Missions.
The Veteran Street Sign Program allows township residents who were wartime veterans to be recognized by adding their name on a secondary street sign to an existing municipal road.
To nominate a veteran, call 732-247- 0922, ext. 475.