This is my first attempt ever at pasting something here.
Growing up for me was a little different then your average American kid.My father was assigned for 10 yrs to a US Army base in Italy.I lived in Italy from 1st grade to 9th grade.Went to the US Army dependent schools on the base.
Memorial Day always brings me back to a childhood memory that we elementary kids did on that holiday.Livorno Ele School had about 250 kids K-6.We were all American kids living on an army base that had everything you had but TV.
But on Memorial Day the school would take 3 buses of kids to the Florence War Cemetary to put flowers on WW 2 soldiers graves.For 7 yrs I took the hour trip and put hundreds of flowers on peoples graves.It's a memory that I can never forget.I remember the P&J sandwichs for lunch and the Kool-Aid with no sugar.
It took us about 3 hours to mark all the graves with flags and flowers.I always went to the left side of the cemetary.I can remember a grave in the front with a spanish name like Rodriquez,Sanchez,Gomez or something.Every yr I would stand over it and ask myself "did anyone in his family ever come to Italy and see where he was buried".Just a 10 yr old thinking about this 19 or 20 yr old kid killed in action.I always wondered if the relatives of these kids killed here in Northern Italy visited them.
My memory of this cemetary is so vivid.Last nite I went into ask jeeves and typed in Florence war cemetary.What appeared was a page and 4 pictures.I hope to god when I hit "submit you will see them.I copied them and pasted them with the help of my son.
But seeing them bought back so many memories.My wife and kids know my stories on Memorial Day.I always told them even when we visited Arlington,Hula Bowl, and Gettsberg that Daddy knows the most beautiful cemetary in the world on a hill outside of Florence.
Very few people stop to see the Florence War cemetary.But it's right off the main road from Florence to Rome.You can see it on the highway.Perrillo tours and others will actually get on the bus microphone and say "if you look to the left there is a WW 2 cemetary where over 4,000 US soldiers are buried. But most tour buses don't stop.A mention is enough.People have to get to Ponte Vecchio or the Duomo in Florence.
It's kinda sad when you think of that.Just maybe there would be no tour buses if it wasn't for all those kids that gave up their lives.
Camp Darby still exsits today.There still is an ele. school there.Not sure if they still take the US Army bus out there to honor those soldiers.I hope they do.It meant a lot to me as a kid growing up.
After seeing these pictures for the 1st time it made me cry.I have been to many sites but nothing so beautiful.All the crosses look in perfect order but from an angle you can see the curve.I can't believe there is a picture of that here.
This 3 day weekend all my kids and yours will go to the mall shopping,see Matrix Reloaded or X-Men Reunited" etc.We all kinda forget what Memorial day is all about.We all have friends,relatives,and people we know that served in the armed forces.
This weekend maybe everyone can take a minut or two and reflect.
Those 4,000 buried in the hills of Tuscany are forgotten by many.But I was lucky to have experinced something that many never got to see.And just maybe small stories like this can keep this holiday special.Lets not forget what this holiday stands for...
I'm about to hit submit.If the pictures don't appear I'll have my son work on it later.Hope everyone has a safe weekend.
Growing up for me was a little different then your average American kid.My father was assigned for 10 yrs to a US Army base in Italy.I lived in Italy from 1st grade to 9th grade.Went to the US Army dependent schools on the base.
Memorial Day always brings me back to a childhood memory that we elementary kids did on that holiday.Livorno Ele School had about 250 kids K-6.We were all American kids living on an army base that had everything you had but TV.
But on Memorial Day the school would take 3 buses of kids to the Florence War Cemetary to put flowers on WW 2 soldiers graves.For 7 yrs I took the hour trip and put hundreds of flowers on peoples graves.It's a memory that I can never forget.I remember the P&J sandwichs for lunch and the Kool-Aid with no sugar.
It took us about 3 hours to mark all the graves with flags and flowers.I always went to the left side of the cemetary.I can remember a grave in the front with a spanish name like Rodriquez,Sanchez,Gomez or something.Every yr I would stand over it and ask myself "did anyone in his family ever come to Italy and see where he was buried".Just a 10 yr old thinking about this 19 or 20 yr old kid killed in action.I always wondered if the relatives of these kids killed here in Northern Italy visited them.
My memory of this cemetary is so vivid.Last nite I went into ask jeeves and typed in Florence war cemetary.What appeared was a page and 4 pictures.I hope to god when I hit "submit you will see them.I copied them and pasted them with the help of my son.
But seeing them bought back so many memories.My wife and kids know my stories on Memorial Day.I always told them even when we visited Arlington,Hula Bowl, and Gettsberg that Daddy knows the most beautiful cemetary in the world on a hill outside of Florence.
Very few people stop to see the Florence War cemetary.But it's right off the main road from Florence to Rome.You can see it on the highway.Perrillo tours and others will actually get on the bus microphone and say "if you look to the left there is a WW 2 cemetary where over 4,000 US soldiers are buried. But most tour buses don't stop.A mention is enough.People have to get to Ponte Vecchio or the Duomo in Florence.
It's kinda sad when you think of that.Just maybe there would be no tour buses if it wasn't for all those kids that gave up their lives.
Camp Darby still exsits today.There still is an ele. school there.Not sure if they still take the US Army bus out there to honor those soldiers.I hope they do.It meant a lot to me as a kid growing up.
After seeing these pictures for the 1st time it made me cry.I have been to many sites but nothing so beautiful.All the crosses look in perfect order but from an angle you can see the curve.I can't believe there is a picture of that here.
This 3 day weekend all my kids and yours will go to the mall shopping,see Matrix Reloaded or X-Men Reunited" etc.We all kinda forget what Memorial day is all about.We all have friends,relatives,and people we know that served in the armed forces.
This weekend maybe everyone can take a minut or two and reflect.
Those 4,000 buried in the hills of Tuscany are forgotten by many.But I was lucky to have experinced something that many never got to see.And just maybe small stories like this can keep this holiday special.Lets not forget what this holiday stands for...
I'm about to hit submit.If the pictures don't appear I'll have my son work on it later.Hope everyone has a safe weekend.
