by J. R. Sharp
Gino smiled as the bus door closed.
Chapter 6
ITALY INVADED GREECE THROUGH Albania in the fall of 1940 in an attempt to conquer the Balkans. Although they gained ground, they were eventually halted by the Greek forces and retreated back to Albania. The Greek victory over the initial Italian offensive was the first Allied land victory of World War II and helped raise morale in occupied Europe. Over 500,000 Italian troops where held up in Albania, and many Italians began questioning their leaders and the direction of the war. The Italians suffered 10,000 dead and 60,000 wounded in the failed attempt. Most of the wounded were shipped to military hospitals all over Italy. The Germans were concerned and prepared to oversee their neighbors to the south to ensure this would not happen again.
***
Gino sat in the back of the train as it barreled down the tracks toward his new duty station in Rome. He didn’t know what to expect but decided to take a chance on not reporting for duty until he had seen his wife.
There were only a few soldiers on board, unlike other trips when the entire train or bus was full of soldiers. He had to be careful and travel at night; his plan was to lose the uniform and get regular clothes in Rome. He would get on a train and head home to be with Catherina for the weekend. He would also check on his father and mother, who he had not heard from in some time.
As the train pulled into Rome, he noticed the station was full of soldiers—German soldiers. The stories he had heard in Naples were true; the Nazis had made Rome their headquarters. As the train rolled to a stop, he moved quickly, heading to the nearest exit. There were so many people in the station house that no one seemed to notice him. He avoided the army check-in centers past the exits, heading instead for a shopping district. While in Naples, he had saved some money for such an occasion. Everything was so expensive in Rome that he only had enough money to buy one set of clothes.
He headed to the nearest men’s store and was looking at shirts when the owner walked toward him.
“You need to leave my store right now before I call the authorities on you,” the man said.
Gino looked at the owner. “What am I doing wrong, sir?”
The owner grabbed Gino by the upper arm and pulled him to the entrance. Gino held his ground and looked at the owner, puzzled.
“What is wrong with you?”
“Do you want to get both of us killed, Private? You know you are not allowed into any clothing stores. The Germans forbid it.”
“What are you talking about?” The store owner stopped pulling on Gino and noticed his uniform looked different from the ones he was used to seeing out in the streets. “You’re not stationed here, are you?”
Gino looked at him and around the store and replied, “No, I just came from Naples and I’m reporting for duty. What I need is some clothes so I can go home for a couple of days and not be worried about someone thinking I’m a deserter. All I want is to see my wife and check on my father and mother.”
The owner, who had been in the Italian Royal Army during World War I, felt sorry for Gino.
“Private, you need to leave now before the authorities come here. What you need to do is come back after it gets dark, but come to the back door of the store. Do you understand me?”
Gino nodded and exited. It was already getting late, so he proceeded downtown to get lost in the evening crowds.
At about eight o’clock, he worked his way back to the clothing store. Gino walked to the back of the store as instructed but had a hard time finding the right door. There were five doors in a row to pick from. He knocked on the one with dim light coming from the bottom. The owner answered and looked outside to see if anybody was watching. As soon as he thought everything was clear, he grabbed Gino by the arm, pulling him into the back of the store. The owner waited two minutes and stepped onto a chair, looking out the window above the door to make sure no one was hiding in the alley. Gino’s heart pounded.
“Do you think you were followed?” asked the owner.
“No, sir.”
In the tailor’s workroom, Gino saw a tie and shirt hanging in the corner. A pair of nice shoes, socks, and a hat sat next to a light-brown suit with pinstripes that perfectly matched the tie and hat.
“You need to look like you’re doing something and not passing through in civilian clothes. The Fascists or Nazis will stop you and ask if you’re in the army, and if you are in civilian clothes, it won’t be good for you. If you tell them you’re a shoe salesman, you have a chance of getting home and back. Now, try on everything and see if we have to make any changes to the suit.”
Gino smiled at the ploy, got undressed, and grabbed the suit from the sitting bench. While Gino dressed, the owner went up front and returned with a suitcase.
“Oh, you look good in that suit; you are the same size as my son. I made that suit for him some time ago and it needs a good home,” the owner said.
Gino smiled and didn’t pry into where the owner’s son was because there were so many young men missing.
“You will need a salesman suitcase like this one. It opens from the top to reveal two pairs of shoes. When you remove the shoes, it can hold another two pairs in the below compartment, but what most people don’t know is it has another compartment on the bottom where you can store extra clothes, like an army uniform.” The owner winked.
“I don’t have enough money for the suit, shoes and suitcase.”
The owner grinned slightly as Gino put on the suit jacket to make sure it fit properly.
“I tell you what; pay me what you can afford now and come by my store in this suit every so often to tell me how things are going in your life,” replied the owner. His eyes filled with tears. He reached into a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses. “Do we have an agreement?”
“Of course, we have an agreement.”
“Good. Let’s drink to your new suit before you get out of here and go visit your family.”
Gino smiled and handed the owner most of his money, keeping a small amount for travel. They sat and talked for about an hour. The shop owner finally told Gino that his son was killed in Ethiopia and his wife had passed away some time ago from an illness. His only living relative was a daughter who worked for the government and visited infrequently.
Gino left the store from the back entrance and again promised the owner he would come by with the suit on to see how he was doing and maybe have a glass of wine with him.
***
As he headed for the train station, Gino picked up his pace. He wanted to leave that night. The train station wasn’t as busy as it had been earlier. He stepped to the ticket counter to purchase a ticket to Venice, hoping to avoid suspicion at his true destination of Pordenone. He would exit the train in Pordenone, a stop on the way to Venice, and then make his way to Catherina’s farm by foot.
The path from Pordenone to her farm was through the woods. He had often traveled the secluded path with Catherina’s brother, Chester, to avoid the glare of nosy neighbors.
Getting closer to the ticket booth, he saw Fascist watchdogs right next to the counter, watching everyone buying tickets. Gino stood like any other waiting passenger.
As he approached the ticket booth window, an employee asked his destination.
“Venice, please.”
“What takes you to Venice?”
“Well, I have the latest shoes we make here, and I’ll be showing them to some of our favorite shoe stores so they can put in their orders.”
He opened his suitcase to show the two pairs in the top. The employee looked at them, gave him an approving smile, and handed him his ticket to Venice. The train was on track five and would be leaving in ten minutes. Gino thanked the employee and headed to the track. This train station was the largest he had ever been in; it had ten sets of tracks and a second floor of shops and bars with lots of people standing around chatting, drinking, and eyeing passersby.
He boarded the train and found a seat next to a window. He saw uniformed
soldiers on the tracks; some had dogs. As the train surged in the direction of his beloved Catherina, Gino’s eyelids felt heavy, and before he knew it, he was sleeping this long day away.
Gino awoke as the train approached Pordenone. He wanted to get off without raising suspicion, and he wanted to avoid running into folks that knew him. When the train stopped in the previous cities, he noticed some stations had watchdogs and some didn’t. To avoid them, he moved to the back of the train car; he could exit and head for the woods if he noticed anything suspicious. His secret trail to Catherina’s farm was near the station.
As the train approached the station, Gino noticed the wooded area was still there, but there was a small fence around it—nothing he couldn’t get over if he needed to. The train stopped, and he made his way to the exit with his hat pulled low and feet moving fast.
Few passengers left the train station; it was late and already dark. As he crossed the street out front, he glanced at the lights of downtown Pordenone. This was the most popular route for passengers leaving the train station. He looked at the farm fields and wooded area; no one walked in that direction. Gino slipped unnoticed into the park and was swallowed by the darkness. After a couple of minutes, he stopped, looked back, and decided he hadn’t been followed. He quickly crossed the fields for the long walk to Cimpello and his beloved Catherina.
His legs were full of energy and excitement from this new journey. Gino had traveled so much in the last year and seen a lot in his short lifetime, but at that moment it was a blur. He focused on the trail and thoughts of his family.
Nothing seemed to have changed. The path was the same size and the trees where the same trees, except they had grown. He picked an area about a hundred meters into the woods, near a clearing, to bury the suitcase under leaves and branches. He waited for about five minutes to make sure no one was watching him and continued his journey.
He exited the woods with the town of Cimpello on his right and the Zucchet farm on the left. It was getting late; Gino had lost track of time but knew he had been walking for about two hours, and he saw a light from the Zucchet farm. He planned to see Catherina first, and if he had time and safe passage, he would visit his father and mother.
He made his way towards the farm using the ditches that the farmers dug to channel the water coming down from the mountains when the ice melted. The farmers used the water for their crops and animals, but the ditches also made great hiding places for travelers.
Chapter 7
AS GINO APPROACHED THE farm, he could see the light in the kitchen. He didn’t want to scare anybody, so he headed to Bruno’s room. Bruno was Catherina’s younger brother and still lived and worked on the farm. Catherina mentioned in one of her letters that he was living in the back of the farmhouse to make more room for her and Maria. As he made his way to the door, he stopped just before he knocked to hear if anybody was up or if there was any movement from inside the room. Gino knew this place like the back of his hand from all the time he spent there with Chester. Gino took a deep breath and knocked ever so gently.
“Bruno, this is Gino. Are you here?” whispered Gino.
Gino heard what sounded like someone getting out of bed and putting on their shoes.
“Gino?” Bruno said.
“Yes, it’s me,” answered Gino.
“Oh my god, hold on. Give me a minute.”
Bruno opened the door and shined a gas lantern in Gino’s direction.
“Oh my god, it is you!” He immediately gave him a hug and they both laughed.
“It’s good to see you again, Bruno. Are Catherina and Maria in the main house?”
“Oh, yes, and it looks like she’s trying to feed Maria again. She doesn’t like to sleep too much, so your wife has to stay up late. Let’s go see them.”
Catherina stood at the kitchen sink finishing the dishes she used to feed Maria. Maria was in the wooden high chair her grandfather built, watching her mother at the sink. Catherina heard the kitchen door open and continued to clean the dishes.
“Bruno, is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me, and I couldn’t sleep. I saw the light on.”
Gino followed Bruno into the kitchen glancing in the direction of his daughter to the left of the kitchen. He was overjoyed with what he saw and went immediately to Catherina. Catherina was just about finished when she turned to see what her brother was doing. She gasped at the sight of her husband and instantly started to cry with joy as she wrapped her arms around him.
Catherina’s parents, Pietro and Anna, and Bruno were all at the table when Catherina told Gino that his father had been killed in the town square by the Germans. Gino was so upset that he couldn’t even talk. He realized at that moment that he hated the Germans and wanted out of the army. The anger in him was very strong and deep and would last for the rest of his life. There was no good reason to keep playing Mussolini’s game. Gino was going to find a way to leave the army and avenge the deaths of his father and brothers.
Catherina made Gino promise not to desert; Fascist supporters would come to the farm and look for him. There were rumors that deserter families were the first to suffer. After Gino explained how he arrived at the farm, Pietro smiled as he would at his own sons.
“What needs to happen tomorrow is that Bruno will go with you to the train station in Pordenone. He will make sure that you get back on the train to Rome without anybody seeing you. The last thing we need is to have someone recognize you. In the future, you need to let us know when you are coming, and we can prepare for your arrival.”
Gino agreed to let them know ahead of time when he was coming to visit, but he wouldn’t know until he figured out what he was doing in Rome.
“It’s time we all go to bed so Gino and Catherina can spend some time by themselves,” remarked Pietro.
Anna kissed them both and followed her husband. Bruno excused himself to his room. Catherina picked up Maria and led Gino to the bedroom that would be their sanctuary for the brief future.
Chapter 8
THE RETURN TRAIN NEARED Rome and Gino kept watch for any sign of trouble. A sea of emotions vexed his body. On the one hand, he was happy to have spent the night with Catherina and Maria, but he was also sad about his father, who had been assaulted by a German officer in the middle of town and died days later from his head wounds. Gino didn’t have time to see what had happened to his father’s farm or discover his mother’s location. The farm was probably being run by Fascist supporters to produce crops for the German and Italian armies. Catherina and Anna would check on his mother in the near future to make sure she was alive.
All the men in his family were dead; Gino was the lone survivor. The rest of his family had scattered, and finding them could take months. That would have to wait until after the war.
The ride back to Rome went without incident, and, just as he had promised, Gino visited the clothes shop owner. Making his way through the morning crowds, he saw the store, but something didn’t feel right. He kept going. Gino glanced into the window but quickly looked away when he saw two Fascist soldiers talking to the owner, who was seated. There might have been more soldiers in the store, but Gino wasn’t waiting to find out. It was time to go to the military check-in center. He needed to find a place to change into his uniform without being noticed. It was Sunday, so a church, perhaps. He found one with a large crowd waiting for the next services. There were soldiers in the crowd as well, he made his way to the front of the mass so he could be first and find a room for a quick change.
Gino left the church in his uniform. The suit was neatly stored in the secret bottom compartment of his suitcase. As he neared the center of the city, he stopped another soldier and asked where the check-in building was located. He got his bearings, thanked the soldier, and off he went to check into his new duty station. After about thirty minutes, he came to a line of soldiers that stretched so far he couldn’t see the beginning.
He approached the last soldier in line.
“Excuse me
, but what is this line for?” asked Gino.
The soldier turned around and replied, “This is the check-in for Rome duty, but they are checking everyone carefully and sending some of the soldiers back to battlefronts if they’re capable of further duty. Got a smoke?”
Gino felt uneasy and handed the soldier a cigarette.
“What’s your name?” the soldier asked as the flame of the match hit the cigarette.
“Gino Cartelli. You are extremely tall. Are you sure you’re Italian?” Gino asked.
The other soldier smiled. Gino was six feet tall and was always asked the same because of his height. He couldn’t imagine how this guy, at least six inches taller than he, went through life. Not only was he really tall, but he was also at least 250 pounds of pure muscle.
“I should ask you the same question, my friend, and thanks for the cigarette,” the soldier replied.
Gino relaxed a little, knowing he’d befriended possibly the largest man he’d ever met.
“What are your injuries? You don’t look wounded at all,” the soldier said.
“I lost a lung and had a nasty bout of malaria. What’s your name?”
“Giacomo Romano.”
Giacomo was missing an eye and had a hard time standing straight, which meant he was likely dealing with back issues from the war. The line moved toward some dead-end street, but it was still a long way off.
“Where did you get wounded, Giacomo?”
“Greece. What a fiasco. We got creamed. What’s been your job? I’m just an infantry soldier, which means since I can still walk they’re going to send me back to die in some far-off war.”
Gino looked at his own paperwork—electrician and telephone repair skill was typed in several places on the second page, and Carlo had given Gino two copies of his orders just in case.
“Let me see your orders.”
Giacomo’s expression changed as he handed them to his new friend. Giacomo was listed as in infantry in the special skills section, which wasn’t good. Gino looked around before he ripped Giacomo’s skill section out and replaced it with the extra copy listing him as an electrician and telephone technician.
