Alfred Calamo was born in Calabria, Italy on Sept. 6, 1920, and moved to the United States in 1936. He was a decorated World War II veteran who served in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944-45. He received a Combat Infantry Badge, the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. He joined the Plainview Fire Department in 1954 and became Captain of Engine Company One in 1959. He became Chief of Department in 1964, and served as a member of the board of directors from 1967 to 1990. He died Jan. 17 at the age of 90.
He was known about Plainview as “Al the Barber,” who on occasion left his
customers mid-haircut in his barber chair while he responded to a fire call. A funeral mass was held at Our Lady of Mercy Roman Catholic Church in Plainview on Jan. 21, and a military service followed at Plainview Fire Department Headquarters.
He is survived by his wife, Rose; two children, daughter Antoinette Eriksen and son Robert; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
