Louis Anthony Berrena, Sr.

Hometown: State College, PA

PSU Connection: Employee

School: University Park

Department: Food Services

Position: Lou spent 30 years at Penn State, managing food service at the Hetzel Union Building (HUB). He served four University presidents—Milton Eisenhower, Eric Walker, John Oswald, and Bryce Jordan. Among other responsibilities, Lou established and served Training Table for the Nittany Lions under Coaches Rip Engle and Joe Paterno.

Memorable moment in your Penn State career: One amusing story from his Penn State days involved a particular Thanksgiving. At Coach Paterno’s request, Lou had prepared a full Thanksgiving feast for the football team which was still on campus preparing for a bowl game. Knowing coach’s penchant for being on time, Lou had all the food set out and ready for the team’s arrival. Coach Paterno became upset upon learning that Lou had already carved all the turkeys, depriving him of that photo op for the press. Ever resourceful, Lou hopped in his car and drove home to take his family’s turkey out of the oven and rush it back to campus for a quick photo.

Active Duty or Veteran: Veteran

Branch: Army

Rank: Sergeant Major

Rate/MOS: Infantry

Where/when did you serve: 517th Parachute Regiment; WWII

Awards: Parachute Badge With Gold Combat Jump Star, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Purple Heart with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, Italian Campaign Medal with two Battle Stars – Rome-Arno and Monte Peloso, French Croix de Guerre with Silver Guiding Star, Presidential Unit Citation Battle of the Bulge, Battle Soy-Hutton Belgium, European Campaign Medal with 6 Battle Stars: Southern France, Airborne Assault, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Hürtgen Forest.

What was your favorite military assignment/duty station and why? Lou recalls his first day in battle as among his favorites memories because of what he learned that day. In Italy, his unit came under fire from a German sniper. A number of men got hit, including the men to his left and right. Lou helped them call for medics and then kept pushing forward until they neutralized the sniper. Later that day, the 517th crossed paths with the the 1st Infantry Division. The men had heard stories of the Big Red One and its hard-fought march across Northern Africa. Seeing them march past was a sign to Lou that he and his men had a chance of surviving the war.

Louis Anthony Berrena, Sr., Army, Sergeant Major (ret), is one of the finest men you will ever meet. He is guided by his love of his family, his country, and his God. Louis “Lou” and his first wife, Pat, raised eight children. Following Pat’s death after 50 years of marriage, Lou met and married his second wife, Edie. They were married for 20 years before her passing in 2020. Between them, they shared 11 children and literally dozens of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Pat Daugherty, owner of The Tavern Restaurant, worked for Lou while he was a student at Penn State. When Lou retired from Penn State, Pat asked Lou to be his bartender at The Tavern. Lou agreed to do it for one year but so enjoyed it that he stayed for 17 years, finally retiring for good when he turned 80 years old. Lou and Pat share a love of war history. In the summer of 1997, Pat took Lou and his son Matt (a now retired Army Sergeant Major) on a European tour of some of the battlefields where Lou had fought. They remain close friends to this day.