What's in a name?

More than 4,000 miles from Dayton is the city of Mannheim, Germany, where the name of a 1940s Flyer is pretty famous, though few people know why. 

Within the town lies the former site of a World War II-era U.S. Army barracks, known as the Spinelli Barracks. The barracks are well known to the residents, including Mannheim city guide Clemens Hoh. 

“The name ‘Spinelli’ is all over Mannheim and, as a city guide, you always think of what is the origin of things? What is the history?” Hoh said. “I was interested in ‘who was Spinelli?’”

This led Hoh on a mission.

He contacted a journalist who had written about Dominic V. Spinelli, a UD student who was born in 1923. Realizing Spinelli’s 100th birthday was approaching, Hoh wanted to learn more.

“Here was this young guy who left university, coming to Germany to fight in the war, dies heroically and then decades later his name is all over the city … and no one knows who this young guy was,” Hoh said.

Spinelli, a native of Hamilton, Ohio, was attending UD and majoring in science when WWII began. He answered the call to serve his country in the European theater of the war where he served as a surgical technician stationed in Mannheim.

One day, in the nearby village of Wilsbach, Allied forces were engaged in fierce battle against the Nazis. Spinelli went into the line of fire attempting to rescue four of his fellow soldiers, but he was shot and killed by Wehrmacht snipers. He was 21.

Spinelli was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Silver Star medals for his heroism, and the barracks he had been stationed at were named in his honor.

The Spinelli Barracks have remained in Mannheim for decades. The site was handed over to the city in 2014. And though some of the old barracks buildings are now gone, the name “Spinelli” has survived.

This year, the barracks are attracting nationwide attention in Germany as one of the locations of the German National Garden Show, known as Bundesgartenschau.

“It’s always quite the hype,” Hoh said, noting that the show draws hundreds of thousands of attendees.

Hoh created a German Wikipedia page.

“When the flower show starts, the people of Mannheim and the guests [at the show] should be able to Google ‘Dominic Spinelli’ and find the page and learn about him.

“I thought it was unfair to use his name in the city without saying, ‘This is [Spinelli].’”

Once the garden show concludes in October, there will be three spaces within the former barracks that will bear the Flyer’s name: Spinelli Park, Spinelli Square and Spinelli Quarter, a residential area that will house nearly 4,500 residents and a shopping center.

Hoh says the city’s continuing use of Spinelli’s name is not only special, but worth reflecting on, especially considering the time when Spinelli served.

“[When] he was here, he was an enemy,” Hoh said. “Now part of our city is named after him. That shows the change over time, and that’s a great feeling.” 

Photos courtesy The German National Garden Show Mannheim 2023.