Conclusion

Claudia and Duncan at Agriturismo Contrada Durano

 

After staying four nights in Francavilla d’Ete where we did very little sightseeing, spending most of our time composing this diary, we headed to Puglia for some rest and relaxation. From the car window, we looked out at the Abruzzi countryside and passed Foggia where my dad had his jubilant reunion with the Americans at the airbase on June 19, 1944. It seemed a long journey (3 ½ hours) and I imagined his impatience to reconnect with them after so long. Foggia is flat and looks industrial, not a tourist centre, but I don’t think my dad would have given that a thought.

We’ve experienced so much by participating in the Tenna Valley Freedom Walks of 2013. We’ve met amazing people from the area and from afar, enjoyed the gracious hospitality of many local Italians and absorbed so much information. Though my dad was not one to exaggerate, we’ve found that he omitted some critical information when relating his experiences here. He never said that he escaped along with 2,000 others, and Giuseppe, having written a history of the camp during WWII, stated that the only prisoners who escaped prior to the Armistice were recaptured. Though appreciative of the assistance he received from the contadini, he related only his own experiences and never spoke of the incredible risks and sacrifices of these families. It is highly likely that my dad’s descendants, the McLaughlin clan, owe their very lives to these unknown heroes. The story of Cesare Viozzi posted on Dennis Hill’s website is a poignant illustration.  In 1943 the Germans issued orders that anyone in the area helping escaped POWs would be killed and they offered rewards to traitors.
 

Copy of original German Order

One may wonder why my dad did not come back here to thank those who saved his life. He was a young American from far away, anxious to put the war years behind him and get on with his life. Travel from the USA to Europe was too arduous and expensive in the '50s and '60s, and he wasn't a prosperous man.  So “basta” – enough – this small gesture must suffice – I'll probably never meet the descendants of the family, so I must be satisfied with thanking a serious young man dedicated to keeping the memories of the heroic contadini alive. ”Grazie a tutti” – thank you everyone. In hiking up and down these Tenna Valley trails over the past few days, I have followed in my father’s footsteps. I’ll never forget the sense of peace watching the dawn break over the beautiful countryside of le Marche on the first morning I awoke at Contrada Durano. Here I was in this place of my imagination looking out over those same hills as my dad- “seventy years on”.

Duncan and I would like to thank so many people for making this experience possible:

Family and friends who sponsored us on the walks

 Event organizers from WW2 Escape Lines Memorial Society and Monte San Martino Trust, especially trustee, John Simkins,

Dennis Hill, historian

Giuseppe Millozzi, historian

Umberto Bufalini and Mario Dondero, photo journalists

Anne Copley and David Runciman, fellow participants

Laura Strappa, teacher

Paolo Ginnete Le Spade, historian

Paola and Marino Marchese, gracious hosts

Pancrazio Tulli and Margret Cornelius, gracious hosts

Luigi and Angela Bracalente, gracious hosts

Ian McCarthy and wife, Gabriella , hike leaders

Jimmy and Concetta Steele of Agriturismo Contrada Durano