L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, two July dates, the landing of the first man on the moon on July 20, 1969 and the Korean War Armistice, signed on July 27, 1953, will always have an Italian Connection for me. As you may recall, the space race began in 1961 when the Soviet Union sent 27 year old air force major Yuri Gagarin into orbit around the Earth -each revolution taking 89 minutes- and bringing him back home safely again In 1962, the U.S. hailed Lieutenant John Glenn Jr. as the first American to orbit around the Earth. John Glenn's three-orbit flight took place on February 20th. After a dozen delays, caused by bad weather and poor sea conditions in the recovery site area, Glenn's Mercury Spacecraft, Friendship 7, lifted off from the Launch Complex at Cape Canaveral, Florida. In July 1969, we earthlings received a message from the moon: "Houston, Tranquillity base here. The Eagle has landed." As these words crackled 238,000 miles (390,000 Kilometers) through the blackness of space, humanity was awed by the news that two American astronauts, Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., had landed on the moon. Soon after, Armstrong emerged from the spidery lunar lander: And as a television cam- era transmitted the otherworldly images to an audience of perhaps 600 million, the astronaut slipped softly onto the bleak, powdery surface at 10.56 pm, delivering the immortal line "that's one small step for Man, one giant step for Mankind." The mission, culmination of a decade-long effort and an age-old dream, had begun on July 16, when Apollo XI blasted off from Pad 39 at Cape Kennedy, Florida. As for me, I have always felt that, although the admiration- worthy accomplishments of our astronauts, their voyage was undertaken with the backup of thousands. To me, the real pioneers of travel were our fathers, mothers and grandparents, who left their isolated and obscure Italian vil- lages to begin a journey to what was for them like another planet. A world thousands of miles away, where they arrived without money and burdened by the fact of not being able to read or speak one of the world's most difficult languages. My admiration for their bravery, sacrifice and courage continues to grow and any of our successes represents an Old World dream's fulfilled and honored. *** The Korean War armistice was signed on July 27, 1953. An armistice took effect, and the two sides counted their losses. Nearly 25,000 US soldiers, more than a million South Koreans and more than a million North Koreans lost their lives. Among the U.S. casualties were many young men who lived in North Beach (then San Francisco's Little Italy) who had taken R.O.T.C. in Galileo High School, on the corner of Van Ness and Bay Streets, where, prior to the closing of Commerce High School, the student body sur- names were 90 percent Italian. I mention Galileo High, because that is my alma mater, but R.O.T.C. graduate cadets and National Guard Unites all over the City were among the first to be drafted and sent to Korea. My husband Tony, then a member of the North Beach based S.F. Hill Troopers Auto Club, was also drafted and sent to Korea. However a photo of a car he built in 1950, later featured in Hot Rod magazine, got him assigned to the 378 Combat Engineers. Tony credits the car with helping him return from Korea, able to share this tale. "In 1950 I decided to build my own sports car from the frame up. The project helped save my life and shape my future. While my friends were building hot rods out of 1932 Ford roadster bodies, I decided I would build a custom car using a 1939 Ford convertible chassis - a car with more classic lines - that would resemble a sports car when modified. I took classes in welding and machine shop at City College and solicited the help of friends. I used parts that gave the car better perfor- mance and eye appeal. The car had a custom white canvas top constructed to be lifted off in one piece (Carson top) and a white pleated interior headliner. The car was showcased in the 1952 Annual National Hot Rod and Custom Car Show in Oakland and was featured in Hot Rod maga- zine. As luck would have it, the following month I was drafted into the US Army. When I was interviewed at Fort Ord, I took pictures and magazine clippings of the car out of my wallet. Thanks to them, I was allowed to take a shorter basic training course and was sent to auto and truck mechanics, assigned to the 378 Combat Engineers in Korea. This assignment not only provid- ed me with a safe haven from the fighting, but gave me an interest in engineering. In 1954, when I was discharged, I did not want to return to my job at my father's Ortega Market as a grocery clerk, but wanted to pursue a career in mechanical engineering.  Five years after returning from Korea, with the help of the GI Bill, I achieved my goal, obtain- ing a degree in mechanical engi- neering from the University of California. The Armistice Agreement signed July 27, 1953 by the United Nations Command, the North Korean People's Army and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army certainly managed to stop bullets from flying, but failed to bring to a peaceful settlement of the conflict. The signed armistice put into force a cease-fire, final- ized repatriation of prisoners and established a demilitarized zone that ran not far from the 38th parallel separating North and South Korea. The dispute was at first handled by soldiers from five nations fighting under the U. N. banner, but the massive Chinese military intervention in North Korea repulsed the advance by United Nations forces towards the Yalu River, which marks the bor- der between north Korea and China. U.N. forces under the command of  General Douglas MacArthur seemed on the verge of a brilliant military victory but North Korea launched a surprise attack on its southern neighbor which nearly overran the entire country. The US, however, was quick to come to South Korea's aid. Under the command of General MacArthur, American troops were dispatched to defend the beleaguered bridgehead around Pusan. Now it is 2017 and on July 4th Kim Jong, supreme Leader of North Korea, joyfully launched an intercontinental ballistic Missile. God Bless America...

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