Diamond in the Rough

Diamond In The Rough is an autobiography of James M. Costa, a young immigrant from S. Italy who survives poverty, war, amputation, corporate corruption and the lure of the Mafia in his journey to achieving the "American Dream".
It is a gritty, sometimes graphic and brutal story that includes gentleness, kindness, and deep love of family, where perseverance and integrity are the shepherds to his success.

James M. Costa was born in Fabrizia, Italy. He immigrated to to U.S. when he was twenty-three months old in 1931. He attended schools in Claremont, NH and resided there. He is married and has four children. He entered the service in 1947 and was medically discharged from Walter Reed Hospital in 1954. He was a paratrooper and fought in the Korean War with the 2nd Infantry Division and also with the 187th airborne Regimental Combat Team. He earned the Silver Star and three Purple Hearts among his decorations. He lost his leg by enemy grenades during his last encounter with the Chinese forces on Outpost Zebra.

After his discharge, he worked as a machinist and then became the treasurer and general manager of a machine tool corporation in Vermont, where he worked for ten years. After that, he started his own corporation, Costa Precision manufacturing Corp. in Claremont, NH and sold it sixteen years later and retired. He now lives in West Unity, NH.