L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 34 L'Italo-Americano T h e u n d u l a t i n g r i d g e o f f o u r p e a k s i n t h e Bergamasque or O r o b i e A l p s embraces the panoramic vil- lage of Oltre Il Colle in the A l t a V a l S e r i n a V a l l e y . M o u n t M e n n a , M o u n t A r e n a , G r e m , a n d A l b e n s t a n d i n a r a n g e c a l l e d MAGA. The second summit was sketched by Leonardo, while the first holds secret sorrows. Mount Menna's crest stands in silence overlook- ing the hamlet of Zorzone in the Oltre Il Colle municipali- t y n o t f a r f r o m t h e l i v e l y s m a l l t o w n o f S e r i n a . Menna's story of a tragedy, a little-known tale of heroism, teaches the area's children t h a t t h e g r o u n d b e n e a t h their feet is the ashes of their grandfathers who fought for a better world. That pinnacle deserves remembrance as it cra- d l e s t h e s p i r i t o f o u r modern Western identi- t y . A w o o d e n c r o s s s i t s there, the work of self-suffi- c i e n t T r a p p i s t m o n k s a t N e w M e l l e r a y A b b e y i n Dubuque, Iowa. It marks the rocky soil where a plane c r a s h e d o n a n a u t u m n night. On October 4, 1944, a B- 24 Liberator bomber built by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California, with four propeller engines pro- duced by Pratt & Whitney flew a clandestine mission w i t h t h e 8 8 5 t h Bombardment Squadron, a unique unit. The brave and gallant aircraft that the US crew called Lady Irene was n o t a l o f t t o b o m b b u t t o carry out a secret mission. Since Roman times, min- ers have chiseled the earth in this industrious valley 23 miles away from the city of Bergamo. They have been digging out and processing valuable zinc and lead ore for centuries—in the last two centuries the mines were l e a s e d o u t t o a n E n g l i s h c o m p a n y a n d a T u s c a n e n t r e p r e n e u r , F l a m i n i o Modigliani, father of the celebrated artist Amedeo Modigliani. I n t h e e a r l y m o r n i n g hours of October 5, 1944, three miners reached the peak of Mount Menna. The p r e v i o u s n i g h t t h e y h a d heard horrific sounds com- ing from that direction. The explosion appeared to have been of tremendous force. On arrival, they found air- c r a f t w r e c k a g e a n d w i t - nessed a gruesome scene: "Slaughter," one of those m i n e r s , G a s p a r e V a l l e , recounted. T h i r t e e n b o d i e s w e r e lying lifelessly. "The ones sitting side-by-side in the nose of the flattened oval nacelle were hugging each other, caught in terror," says Giulio Borlini, a 21-year- old mechanical engineering student at the University of B e r g a m o . H e h a s b e e n researching this WWII case s i n c e h e w a s 7 y e a r s o l d together with his dad Luigi, a plumber passionate about history and aviation. T h e d a y b e f o r e , L a d y Irene took off from Brindisi, Puglia, en route to a secret destination. The plane flew over the Adriatic Sea, then entered the Po Valley. For security reasons, it main- tained radio silence. "The target zone was the hills of San Fermo near Lake Iseo," reveals Borlini, who s t u d i e d t h e g e o g r a p h i c a l coordinates contained in a f i l e o f M i s s i n g A i r c r e w Reports released by the US A r m y A i r F o r c e . T h e N a t i o n a l A r c h i v e s a n d R e c o r d s A d m i n i s t r a t i o n provided a copy. T h e L a d y I r e n e d i d n ' t stop at the target zone that e v e n i n g . I t w e n t f a r t h e r , impacting the ground at an e l e v a t i o n o f 7 , 3 4 9 f e e t between 9 and 10 pm, and exploded on impact. "It was flying too low" one of locals recalled. But why remains unknown. T h e M i s s i n g A i r c r e w R e p o r t w a s w r i t t e n o n October 10, five days after the crash that resulted in the l o s s o f 1 3 m e n . T e n A m e r i c a n c r e w m e m b e r s perished along with three Italian civilians. The US sol- diers' bodies were identified, all aged between 20 and 29. The pilot, Captain Charles R o b e r t S l o a n , w a s f r o m Dubuque, Iowa — Borlini m e t h i s n i e c e s t w o y e a r s ago. The crew came from dif- f e r e n t s t a t e s : C a l i f o r n i a , N e w Y o r k , N e w J e r s e y , Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Louisiana, and Minnesota. "I'm trying to get in touch w i t h t h e r e l a t i v e s o f t h e c r e w m e n , " s a y s B o r l i n i . "Especially, I'd like to find s o m e b o d y r e l a t e d t o L i e u t e n a n t B o b Bookout. He was from San Bernardino, California, and was already married when he went to war." A n d w h a t a b o u t t h e Italians? Who were they? A n d w h a t w a s t h e s e c r e t mission that carried them to their deaths? "Unfortunately, we still d o n ' t k n o w w h o t h e y a l l were," says Mr. Borlini. The official report reads: "Three (3) agents were also aboard the a/c and these men were to be dropped in the target a r e a . S i n c e t h e s e w e r e I t a l i a n a g e n t s a n d O S S (Office of Strategic Services) personnel, all details con- c e r n i n g t h e m a r e b e i n g reported by OSS headquar- ters. This organization does not have all the information pertinent to them to make the necessary report." The OSS was a wartime intelligence agency and the MARIELLA RADAELLI Giulio Borlini (right) has been researching the events of Oltre il Colle (Photo courtesy of Giulio Borlini) Continued to page 36 Oltre Il Colle, where peak holds heroic tale of Americans, Italians and WWII LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE

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