on June 6th 1944 most of us are familiar with the invasion of Normandy during World War II.. books,news movies etc have told story of the invasion.. but my father who was an administrative officer in Gen Clarks 5th army entered and liberated Rome the day before, June 5th ..I have told this story here before ...
Mt father was born in Abuzzia, Italy in 1909.at the age of 4 or 5 his parents left Italy and came to America.. They moved to an Italian section of the Bronx called Arthur Ave..this section today is still called ' little italy". his father[ my grandfather served with the US Army in World War 1 but didn't go overseas ..he washed uniforms and pressed
army clothes in New Jersey in 1917-18 ...he died of an heart attack when he was just under 50..
My father went to elemenatry school in the Bronx and attended Teddy Roosvelt HS and graduated in 1932.. he was No 1 in his class and was offered 2 schlarships ..Fordham Univ which was across the street from his building where he lived and Manhattan College across town in the Bronx..when fordham reneged on the full schlarship and gave it to the No 2 in his class and Irishmen the italian community organized...Bishop Perricone the archbishop of the Bronx got involved and although my father always denied it ..yet my mother said it was true " the italian american club[ sometimes known as the mafia} put some pressure on the President of Fordham ...and they offered him the scholar ship ..but I guess my grandfather was stubborn and my father ended up at Manhattan College with a major in Language Education in teaching Spanish and italian .. He graduated in 1936 and taught Italian at his HS Teddy Roosevelt In 1942 he was drafted and became an officer ..he was assigned to gen Clarks 5th Army as an AMG officer.. {allied milatary goverment} He went to north Africa and then was a part of the invasion of Sciley ....as the Germans retreated my father would go into Italian towns and restore democracy ,arrest the facist ..and create a small governing body ...feed the people and then move on to another city...one of the AMG officers he served with was followed by a writer who wrote a book in 1946 that won the pulitzer prize " A Bell for Adano " by John Hersey..my father said he was a lot like him but very romantized ..
After Sicily they crossed the straits of Messina to mainland italy.. Calabria..it was there my father hooked up with all my mothers 1st cousins and aunts and uncles .. I'm sure some things fell off the US Army trucks as he gave them needed food and help. And also he met Bishop Pericone family and hooked them up too . amazing how things come back in life ..
My father was stationed in Naples for almost a year..doing investgated work and weeding out the Italians that backed Mussolini and Hitler...
as the war in italy moved north, he was put on a bus and sent just outside of Rome ..it was a few days before June 5th ..he was assigned to sit in a jeep and became part of the parade of Gen Clarks libertaing Rome ..he was in the 11th jeep in between 20 tanks and troop trucks ,, it was like the Macy's day parade or St Patricks parade all show ,1,000 and 1,000 Itailans cheered as the caravan moved on Gen Clark was being driven in by non Roman italians and they were susposed to go to the Victor emauneul monument where Mussinlini gave his speeches .. the mayor of rome and all the dignaterries were waiting but there was a problem they made a wrong turn and were going away from the Emanuel plaza.. the parade how to stop and ask a guy watching the parade on a bike : which way to go " he told them make a left and go 3 blocks..you will run right into it " Imagine Clark is the 1st conqueer to capture Rome since Attilla the hun and he is lost Can't make up this ...
anyway Rome is captured and Clark is a hero with newspapers and movies high reels spreading all over the world but in about 8 hours after capturing Rome the biggest invasion that has ever occured is about to hit the Normandy beaches
Studs Turkil the great writer says it best " headlines for a day and backpages for a life time "
My father spent that night at the Nord Roma Hotel a 4 star hotel near the train station.. it wasn't until a few hours later in the morning that they heard about Normandy and D-Day..
the next day my father became a lead investigator in the Ardeatine Cave Massares where 300 Italians were shot and killed and burried just outside of Rome .. the Italian partisans in March had killed 30 SS German troops marching in downtown rome with a bomb Hitler ordered 10 people shot for every German killed ..many Italians were involved in capturing these innocent 300 and helping the Germans as collabrators ..my father did the investgated work and some of these collabrators were put before Italian firing squads
anyway June 5th had a different meaning for me ,,and then 37 years ago my son is born on June 5th going over tonight here in Austin for a drive by honking horn parade.. a little different from the one my father was in but think he is looking down here with a smile
sorry for all the mispelling and run on sentences
Mt father was born in Abuzzia, Italy in 1909.at the age of 4 or 5 his parents left Italy and came to America.. They moved to an Italian section of the Bronx called Arthur Ave..this section today is still called ' little italy". his father[ my grandfather served with the US Army in World War 1 but didn't go overseas ..he washed uniforms and pressed
army clothes in New Jersey in 1917-18 ...he died of an heart attack when he was just under 50..
My father went to elemenatry school in the Bronx and attended Teddy Roosvelt HS and graduated in 1932.. he was No 1 in his class and was offered 2 schlarships ..Fordham Univ which was across the street from his building where he lived and Manhattan College across town in the Bronx..when fordham reneged on the full schlarship and gave it to the No 2 in his class and Irishmen the italian community organized...Bishop Perricone the archbishop of the Bronx got involved and although my father always denied it ..yet my mother said it was true " the italian american club[ sometimes known as the mafia} put some pressure on the President of Fordham ...and they offered him the scholar ship ..but I guess my grandfather was stubborn and my father ended up at Manhattan College with a major in Language Education in teaching Spanish and italian .. He graduated in 1936 and taught Italian at his HS Teddy Roosevelt In 1942 he was drafted and became an officer ..he was assigned to gen Clarks 5th Army as an AMG officer.. {allied milatary goverment} He went to north Africa and then was a part of the invasion of Sciley ....as the Germans retreated my father would go into Italian towns and restore democracy ,arrest the facist ..and create a small governing body ...feed the people and then move on to another city...one of the AMG officers he served with was followed by a writer who wrote a book in 1946 that won the pulitzer prize " A Bell for Adano " by John Hersey..my father said he was a lot like him but very romantized ..
After Sicily they crossed the straits of Messina to mainland italy.. Calabria..it was there my father hooked up with all my mothers 1st cousins and aunts and uncles .. I'm sure some things fell off the US Army trucks as he gave them needed food and help. And also he met Bishop Pericone family and hooked them up too . amazing how things come back in life ..
My father was stationed in Naples for almost a year..doing investgated work and weeding out the Italians that backed Mussolini and Hitler...
as the war in italy moved north, he was put on a bus and sent just outside of Rome ..it was a few days before June 5th ..he was assigned to sit in a jeep and became part of the parade of Gen Clarks libertaing Rome ..he was in the 11th jeep in between 20 tanks and troop trucks ,, it was like the Macy's day parade or St Patricks parade all show ,1,000 and 1,000 Itailans cheered as the caravan moved on Gen Clark was being driven in by non Roman italians and they were susposed to go to the Victor emauneul monument where Mussinlini gave his speeches .. the mayor of rome and all the dignaterries were waiting but there was a problem they made a wrong turn and were going away from the Emanuel plaza.. the parade how to stop and ask a guy watching the parade on a bike : which way to go " he told them make a left and go 3 blocks..you will run right into it " Imagine Clark is the 1st conqueer to capture Rome since Attilla the hun and he is lost Can't make up this ...
anyway Rome is captured and Clark is a hero with newspapers and movies high reels spreading all over the world but in about 8 hours after capturing Rome the biggest invasion that has ever occured is about to hit the Normandy beaches
Studs Turkil the great writer says it best " headlines for a day and backpages for a life time "
My father spent that night at the Nord Roma Hotel a 4 star hotel near the train station.. it wasn't until a few hours later in the morning that they heard about Normandy and D-Day..
the next day my father became a lead investigator in the Ardeatine Cave Massares where 300 Italians were shot and killed and burried just outside of Rome .. the Italian partisans in March had killed 30 SS German troops marching in downtown rome with a bomb Hitler ordered 10 people shot for every German killed ..many Italians were involved in capturing these innocent 300 and helping the Germans as collabrators ..my father did the investgated work and some of these collabrators were put before Italian firing squads
anyway June 5th had a different meaning for me ,,and then 37 years ago my son is born on June 5th going over tonight here in Austin for a drive by honking horn parade.. a little different from the one my father was in but think he is looking down here with a smile
sorry for all the mispelling and run on sentences
