Carmine V. Genovese was born on March 5, 1944, in Newark, NJ, the son of Tessie Ranione and John Genovese. He lived in Rahway and Colonia, NJ. His home of record is Rahway, NJ. Carmine had six brothers and one sister – Michael, Thomas, Dominick, James, John, Daniel, and Ann.
Carmine attended Rahway High School. Carmine did many of the other things that teens did to have fun. He enjoyed going down to the shore, to the boardwalk, and to the beach. He also liked going to dances. He spent a lot of time with his friends and he was often referred to as an “extra son” at their homes. Carmine liked making new friends wherever he went. Carmine was a carpet installer for Central Carpet on Elizabeth Avenue in Linden, NJ. He would continue to keep in touch with the people where he had been employed and would work at this job on the weekend when he came home on leave.
After graduating from Rahway High School, he married Kathleen Regan Genovese. Carmine and Kathleen first met when she was fifteen and he was eighteen. Fate stepped in when they met again and began to date. It wasn’t until Kathleen turned eighteen that they began to discuss marriage. At this point in time, Carmine had already been drafted and gone through basic training. Carmine and Kathleen were married on October 2, 1965. They were married in the home of Mayor Walter Zippolo, in Woodbridge Township, with a plan to remarry in the Catholic Church upon Carmine’s return from Vietnam. Kathleen’s mom and stepfather, (Marjorie and John Meyers) attended. Her sister, Judy Reid, was her maid of honor, while Carmine’s friend, Rick Sullivan was his best man. They had a small reception at the American Legion on Elizabeth Avenue in Linden. Both of their families and all their friends attended. Carmine had to report back to duty at Fort Dix the following day. Carmine would come home on weekend leaves, when he and his wife would stay at her parents’ home in Colonia.
Genovese was drafted into the US Army on June 8, 1965. He was assigned to Fort Dix for his basic training under Sgt. Louie Amore. Carmine had hoped to either become a cook or a paratrooper while in the service. Neither of these came to fruition because he received deployment orders to Vietnam On December 10, 1965. On the way to Vietnam, they had a stopover in California and then Japan. While in Vietnam, he became friends with Sgt. Rudy Guerrero. Sgt. Guerrero was in charge of Genovese’s company, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. Genovese was hospitalized for two months due to an injury to his foot. During his hospital stay, he saw a young child in the hospital, who he had been told, had been shot out of a tree because he was mistaken for a monkey. He was the type of person who felt very badly for the child and wished he could have brought him home. Soon after that, Genovese was sent back to his company. Even though it was difficult, he tried to keep in touch with friends that he made in basic training, but they had been sent to different companies once they had arrived in Vietnam. He attained the rank of Private First Class (PFC).
Genovese was killed in action on May 8, 1966. He was struck by mortar fired by friendly forces while on a military operation against the enemy.
An Episcopalian service was held with his burial in Hazelwood Cemetery, in Rahway, NJ.
Genovese received the Purple Heart, the Infantryman Badge, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
Sources: John F. Kennedy Memorial High School and NJVVMF.
12/17/2024
