L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 11 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Dear Readers, November, the month we celebrate A ll S aints ' D ay, reminds me that only when the "Saints came marching in" via statues imported from Italy of Beloved or patron saints from whence the newly arrived Italian immigrants came, did the trickle of Italian males, distrustful of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy and Iris h dominated parishes in the U.S. began taking a more active part in church activities by donating time, money and labor to the parish churches located in their neighborhoods. *** All Souls' Day November 2, when the faithful are supposed to pray for and remember the dead, reminded me that the Vatican recently published guidelines for Catholics w ho w ant to be cremated reminding them that there is to be no scattering of cremation ashes. I personally want to make my exit in a red, white and green casket, but if cremation is your exit of choice, following are a few guidelines: for most of its 2000 year history, the Catholic Church only permitted burial, arguing that it best expressed the Christian hope in res urrection. But in 1963, the V atican explicitly allowed cremation as long as it didn't suggest a denial of faith about res urrection . The new document from the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the F aith repeats that burial remains preferred. But it lays out guidelines for conserving ashes for the increasing numbers of Catholics who choose cremation for economic, ecological or other reasons. It said, it was doing so to counter what it called "new ideas contrary to the church's faith" that had emerged since 1963, including New Age ideas that death is a "fusion" with Mother Nature and the universe, or the "definitive liberation" from the prison of the body. The Vatican said ashes and bone fragments cannot be kept at home, since that would deprive the Christian community as a whole of remembering the dead. Rather, the church authorities should designate a sacred place, such as a cemetery or church area, to hold them. Only in extraordinary cases can a bishop allow ashes to be kept at home. Vatican officials declined to s ay w hat circumstances would qualify, but pres u mably countries w here Cath olics are a pers ecuted minority and where Catholic churches and cemeteries have been ransacked would qualify. *** Veterans Day, November 11, formerly known as Armistice Day reminds me that etched onto the wall of a sentry box in a former war zone is an unsigned indictment from an unknown s oldier, keeping w atch and w eighing his pros pect for a normal life. God and the soldier, all men adore In time of danger and not before. When the danger is passed and all things righted, G od is forg otten, and the soldier slighted. H ow w e treat returning soldiers once the parades have pas s ed is a meas ure of a country's character and a government's competence. O ften the w ar s hadow s the warriors: to the returning victors of World War II came honor and glory and the GI Bill. But for veterans of K orea – "the F orgotten War"- there w as s ilence. A nd, for returning V ietnam veterans there w as often verbal hostility. We've grown up since then, embrace complexity: it doesn't matter that nearly two-thirds of Americans said the Iraq war wasn't worth fighting; three- quarters say the government is not doing enough to help returning vets. That is why, just a few weeks ago, I could not believe my eyes when I read in the newspapers that the P entagon had been making an effort to recoup Bonus payments they made over ten years ago! During the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan a decade ago, s tate N ational G uard recruiters, under pressure to meet recruitment goals , fraudulently or mistakenly doled out more than $15 million in bonuses to entice soldiers to re- enlist for another tour of duty. Thousands accepted the offer, receiving $15,000 or more a piece. M any had already s erved tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Bonus money w as supposed to be awarded to men w ith s pecial job s kills , but National Guard recruiters in their zeal to meet recruitment goals w ere often flexible regarding special skills. M any s oldiers w ho innocently accepted re- enlistment bonuses had no idea w ere improperly aw arded, fought in combat zones, and then felt profoundly betrayed when the Pentagon demanded soldiers return the money or else face tax liens. In a few instances, former Guard members were forced to mortgage homes and take other extreme measures to pay it back When thes e s trong arm government tactics to recoup Bonus payments by the Pentagon came to light, Defense Secretary, Ash Carter announced that the P entagon w as suspending its efforts to force s oldiers to return bonus es improperly awarded a decade ago to 9,700 members of the California National Guard for re- enlisting during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Carter's order came after members of Congress from both parties , including H ous e M ajority Leader K evin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D- San Francisco, condemned the Pentagon's efforts to recoup the money. Carter said he was "ordering a series of steps to ensure fair treatment for thous ands of California N ational G uard soldiers who may have received incentive bonuses and tuition assistance improperly as a result of errors and in s ome cas es behavior by members of the California National Guard." He said "There is no more important responsibility for the Department of defense than keeping faith with our people." Let us hope so… *** Lest we forget. S adly the "w ar to end all w ars ", WWI, didn't and our Armed Forces are once again doing battles on foreign soil. This poem written in 1988 by a RO TC Cadet M ajor K elly Strong, reminds us that freedom is not free. I watched the flag pass one day. It fluttered in the breeze. A young Marine saluted it. And then he stood at ease. I thought how many men like him. Had fallen through the years. How many died on foreign soil? How many mother's tears? How many pilots' planes shot down? How many died at sea? H o w many foxholes w ere soldiers' graves? No, freedom is not free… *** N o vemb er D ates w ith an Italian Connection include: • Ella T. Grasso was elected governor of Connecticut Nov. 5, 1974. The first female elected as a governor in the United States • Giuseppe Garibaldi turned S outhern Italy over to K ing Victor Emanuel Nov. 7 1860 with a handshake, after having liberated it from the Spanish Bourbons. The following year, G aribaldi w as offered a commission as general in the U nion A rmy by P res ident Lincoln. • In 1494, the first book of accounting was published by Fra' Luca Pacioli Nov .10. It explained to the world the Italian method of double-entry bookkeeping, a mains tay of today's capitalist society. • M ichelangelo's ceiling painting in the Sistine Chapel was first seen by the general public on Nov. 15, 1512. • Imogene Coca, famous comedienne and co-performer w ith S id Caes ar during the 1950's, was born Nov. 18, 1908. • The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge was dedicated Nov. 21, 1964. The longest suspension bridge in the world was named after Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, who first sailed into New York Harbor in 1524, for the French. • J oltin' J oe D iM aggio, baseball great, was born Nov 25, 1914 in Martinez, California. • Compos itor G iacomo Puccini (Madama Butterfly) died Nov. 29, 1924 before completing Turandot. *** S t. Martin 's feas t D ay, N ovember 2, is us ually celebrated in Italy with a goose. Martin died in 397 AD and since in antiquity it was the Roman feast day of Bacchus, good of w ine and revels , it is s till customary to taste new wine on St. Martin's Day. Some overdo and say that "San Martino" is the patron saint of drunkards.

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