L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D e a r R e a d e r s , V e t e r a n s Day (Novem- ber 11th) and T h a n k s g i v - ing Day (November 24th) are celebrated in November. Since many of our readers or members of their families are veterans of one or more wars that have taken place in their lifetime - World War II (1939-1945, with the US e n t e r i n g t h e c o n f l i c t i n December 1941); the Korean War (1950-1953); the Viet- nam War (1959-1975, with US ground combat forces arriving in 1965); the Per- sian Gulf War (1990-1991) and several other Middle East conflicts - I thought I w o u l d o n c e a g a i n t h a n k them for their service and support organizations with an "A" rating from Charity Watch, a watchdog report program from the American Institute of Philanthropy (www. charitywatch.org). F o r i n s t a n c e , t h e G a r y Sinise Foundation. *** World War II veter- ans still fondly remember a r t i s t / c a r t o o n i s t B i l l Mauldin (1922-2003) who enlisted in the Army, was a s s i g n e d t o t h e 1 8 0 t h Infantry as a rifleman, and later became the voice of World War II infantrymen through his drawings and weary dog-faced GIs Willie and Joe. Bill Mauldin, who served in Italy and other battle- s c a r r e d p a r t s o f E u r o p e , gave readers back home a f o x h o l e - l e v e l v i e w o f t h e w a r f r o n t , f r o m 1 9 4 0 t o 1945, via his cartoons, the p r o t a g o n i s t s o f w h i c h , W i l l i e a n d J o e , s l o g g e d through training camp and European battle fronts sar- castically mocking every- thing, from the orders they received to their equipment, all the way to their allies. The cartoons, published in Stars and Stripes, delighted h i s f e l l o w s o l d i e r s a n d endeared Maulin to Ameri- cans at home. However, his non-conformist approach l e d h i m t o a f a c e - t o - f a c e upbraiding with General G e o r g e P a t t o n . B u t Mauldin continued to draw w h a t h e w a n t e d a n d , i n 1945, his series Up Front w i t h M a u l d i n f e a t u r i n g Willie and Joe won him a Pulitzer Prize for educa- tional cartooning. *** Here are some passages f r o m B i l l ' s w o r k t h a t recount his experience in Italy during World War II: " M o s t p e o p l e i n I t a l y and Sicily gave us a rousing welcome in all their towns and cities, but nowhere was there such excitement as in Rome. We got awful cynical about it because the enthu- siasm seemed to stop and t h e c o m p l a i n t s s t a r t e d t w e n t y - f o u r h o u r s a f t e r e v e r y b o d y w a s k i s s i n g everybody else. When would w e b r i n g s h o e s , f o o d , c l o t h e s a n d p h o n o g r a p h records? Who was to pay for uncle Antonio's vino shop, and why did we have to shell aunt Amelia's ristorante?" " W h e n t h e m o u n t a i n fighting in Italy started to get tough, and it was impos- sible for trucks or jeeps to bring food and water, com- panies were mustered and calls for experienced mule skinners went out through the divisions. Mules were sought out and bought from farmers. They carried sup- plies to many soldiers who h a d n ' t s e e n a j e e p f o r weeks." "Shortly after Rome fell, all of the city's better hotels were grabbed by brass hats and the Air Forces. Did the infantry have a hotel? Hell, no. The sightseeing doggie was out of luck if he wanted a p l a c e t o s l e e p a f t e r h e o g l e d s o m e o f R o m e ' s sights. This was a heck of a note for the doggie who had s w e a t e d o u t A n z i o a n d C a s s i n o , a n d w h o h a d pushed north to take Rome after nine awful months in Italy." *** Thanksgiving Day is a d a y o f g r a t i t u d e , s o I thought I would print noted 1980s motivational speaker E a r l N i g h t i n g a l e s ' Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. thoughts on the subject: "To my way of thinking the luckiest people are those w h o h a v e d e v e l o p e d a n a l m o s t c o n s t a n t s e n s e o f gratitude. A person who is not conscious of living - and of all the things that living e m b o d i e s - m i g h t j u s t a s well not be living at all. This i s w h a t S o c r a t e s m e a n t when he said: 'The unexam- ined life is not worth living.' T h e l u c k i e s t p e o p l e a r e those who are grateful for their work and grateful that they can do their work and do it well. They are grateful f o r t h e i r f a m i l y a n d t h e y never take them for granted. They are grateful for their health and their friends and their opportunities. They are aware of the ugly and s o r d i d t h i n g s t h a t g o o n a r o u n d t h e m b u t t h e y d o not permit themselves to be d i s m a y e d . W h e n t r o u b l e comes their way, they seem to know it is only tempo- rary. They are so grateful for a l l t h e g o o d t h i n g s , t h e y don't have time for preoccu- pation with the unpleasant things. They expect the best from life as we all do; they get what they expect ninety- f i v e p e r c e n t o f t h e t i m e . They wake up in the morn- ing grateful that they are a l i v e a n d g e t t o b e d t h e s a m e w a y a t n i g h t . T h e y seem to be aware that they are living every second of their lives and they enjoy their food, their sleep, their work and their friends. We all know people like this and can learn from them. And perhaps the best way to do that is to develop a strong sense of gratitude."

• Cover