By November 30, 1943, Trause dropped out of high school during his junior year in order to join the United States Army.

As a private first-class, Trause trained in Africa and fought in the Italian Campaign, where he served in the United States infantry as a scout.

He was captured by the SS outside of Florence in September 1944 and subsequently transported to Stalag VII-A, a camp for prisoners of war run by Nazi Germany, where he was held until he was liberated by American troops on May 2, 1945.

He competed as a semi-professional football and baseball athlete in the years following the war and married a receptionist from East Rutherford, New Jersey in June 1952.

In his later years, he became a well-known New Jersey community figure and gained international attention after being awarded his high school diploma at the age of 92.

[4][5] On November 30, 1943, Trause dropped out of high school during his junior year in order to enlist in the United States Army during World War II.

[1] Following the completion of his training, he traveled to Naples aboard a British troop transport to begin combat against the Italian Social Republic.

[12] On the morning of September 24, 1944, Trause became separated from his fellow soldiers while on a scouting mission in the Apennine Mountains outside of Florence and hid inside of a nearby farmhouse.

[4][2] After his capture by the Nazis, Trause adopted the pseudonym of "Al",[note 1] fearing that referring to himself as "Vito" would expose his Italian heritage and subject him to the beatings experienced by other Italian-American prisoners of war.

[17] After his liberation from the prison camp, Trause and several of his fellow prisoners-of-war obtained Harley-Davidson motorcycles with sidecars and began to drive towards Paris.

[18] In July 2015, a parade was held in honor of his 90th birthday in Washington Township; among the participants were a brigade of police cars, firetrucks, and 20 motorcycle riders of the Carlstadt-based Nam Knights of America.

[18] Following Trause's death, a memorial trust was established in his name to provide college scholarships for graduates of Westwood Regional High School.