Delphine Biaggi Baeta, a 22-year Marine veteran who caused a patriotic sensation with three of her sisters when they joined the corps together during World War II, died Friday at age 90.
She died at her Sacramento home after a lengthy illness, said her husband, John.
The Biaggi sisters – Delphine, Flora, Ida and Muriel – made headlines when they enlisted together at a Sacramento Marine recruiting station in 1943. They were believed to be the first group of that many sisters to join a service branch, and a special swearing-in ceremony for them at Memorial Auditorium drew national news coverage.
"Flora went down to join first, but they told her she was too short," John Baeta said.
"Then they said, 'If you can get your sisters to enlist too, we'll accept you.' She talked to her sisters, and they didn't even hesitate. Their mom and dad were so proud of them."
The Biaggi sisters appeared together in promotional ads for the Marine Corps Women's Reserve. They went through basic training at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and were stationed at Camp Pendleton until released from service when the war ended in 1945.
An independent woman who enjoyed the camaraderie among Marine women, Delphine Biaggi re-enlisted for active duty in 1948. She served in Marine posts worldwide, including assignments in Washington, San Diego, Santa Ana and with NATO in Paris. She retired as a sergeant first class in 1968.
Delphine "Del" Biaggi was born in 1918 in Gardnerville, Nev., into a family of five girls and two boys. Reared on a dairy farm by Swiss immigrants John and Lena Biaggi, the daughters moved to Sacramento before the war.
The Marine sisters took different paths after the war. Flora Biaggi re-enlisted before dying in an automobile crash in 1945. Ida Biaggi married and reared a family.
Delphine Biaggi served as maid of honor at her sister Muriel's 1948 wedding to John Baeta, a longtime family friend. After retiring from the Marines, Delphine Biaggi moved in with the couple to help care for her sister, who had multiple sclerosis and died in 1973. Delphine Biaggi and John Baeta married in 1975.
"I joked that she was getting a retread," John Baeta said, "but she looked at it as getting a younger husband."
Mrs. Baeta was active with her husband, an Army Air Corps pilot in World War II, in Marine and Air Force reunions. She was treasurer and past president of Women's Marines Association Chapter CA4 and belonged to the Veterans Affiliated Council and Disabled American Veterans.
Although proud of her service, she downplayed her brush with fame from her initial enlistment during war.
"She didn't like the publicity," her husband said. "But it was really something that she went back and served in the Marines for so long."
Call The Bee's Robert D. Dávila, (916) 321-1077.
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