Thank you all for the nice response.Some great posts.
Looking at those pictures though just brings back so many memories.
I'm not sure if you can tell from the 1st picture but the cemetary is huge.I remember always going up hill.Everything was uphill.We started up at the top and worked our way down when we put the flowers out.
I also remember if you kneeled down right near the cross and put your chin on it and looked out,all the crosses were in perfect order.It was like an optical illuision.And like the 2nd picture the crosses all curved from the side view.
I also remember seeing a lot of "stars of david" on some and not crosses.In my younger days I had no idea but later on realized what it was.I think you can see one from picture 2 but I remember many more there.
Growing up there was a great experince.We lived on the Mediterrean Sea.Camp Darby was a depot base[really missle base ]and still is.It was also the 2nd port to the Navy's 6th Fleet.When aircraft carriers USS Forrestal and Randoph came in you had to go to the PX and buy your stuff because once the fleet came to the base they wiped it out.The Army and navy played each other in every sport every day they were in dock.
We had movies,snack bars,teen clubs,little league.In 1962 or "63 we won the Italian little league championships.We then went to France and won at an air force base.[the next yr Degaulle kicked all of us out of france when he withdrew from NATO] But we played an army team in Weisbaten,Germany.The winner went to Williamsport,Pa. We lost.I think I led off the game with a bunt single.And that was are only hit.German army bases had 10-16 teams in little league .We had only 4 teams.But about 10 yrs ago Aviano Air Force base in Italy beat the big Germans and played in Williamsport.
We missed TV.The radio and the Stars and Stripes was our only resource to the USA.We would listen to AFN[armed forces network]for baseball scores.They were always 3 days behind.
Being a diehard Phillie fan in 1964 the Phillies lost a 7 or 8 game lead the last 2 weeks.I was frantic.I ended up calling my uncle in the Bronx.Back then it took an hour for trans-atlantic calls. I finally get him and he didn't know any scores.He didn't even have a newspaper in the house.My uncle still tells that story today."I get this call from Italy,I think maybe my sister died and its my damn nephew wanting a baseball score".
The world series games were live on AFN. But the god damn Russians would jam them.They would play with your head.let you listen to a few innings.Just when something big came up. "Mickey Mantle is up,2 on,full count......EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE---EEEEEEEEEE.Bastards.
We would have to wait for the "Teletone" news about a month later to watch it.Teletone was current events shown before a movie.We actually went to movies just to see the teletone news and left.[movies on the base were 15 cents.]
TV was the worst.Italy had only 2 stations and they went off at 11.00pm. Perry mason was the No1 hit.Bonaza was No 2.I loved Bonaza.
Imagine Piccola Joe[Little Joe]riding his horse up on the Ponderosa and meeting an Indian." Caio,Piccola Joe,dove tu padre Senoro Cartwright?
Anyway I'm rambling on.Sorry.Just thinking about my childhood.
Hope everyone has a nice memorial day.The responses here were so good.Thanks....
