Part of the Occupation Force in Japan after the war, Richard Colucci pivoted from his training in chemical warfare and as a paratrooper to help rebuild the shattered nation by finding jobs for its citizens.

Richard Colucci was born in Chicago in November 1927 to Dominic and Marie Bongeorno Colucci. He grew up in the Taylor Street Little Italy neighborhood, moving a couple of times. “I think there was a leash on people. They weren’t allowed to go out,” Colucci chuckles. His maternal grandparents emigrated from Calabria and his paternal grandparents from Naples. All of his extended family lived in Little Italy.