War Stories
In the course of a journey (the last part on foot, to whet the appetite) towards a rather agreeable lunch in rather agreeable company at the fabulous Tuscan village of Brandeglio yesterday, your host spotted a wooden cross at the side of the track with an inscription in the rock above it, illegible except for the dates "1930-1944". On making enquiries he was told that during the Second World War three friends from said village were off as usual playing in the nearby woodland when one saw some disturbed ground. They dug together and uncovered what appeared to be a heavy cylindrical object, but as they pulled it from the soft earth for closer examination, it exploded in their faces. One child was blinded, another lost a hand, and the third was killed instantly, and the inscription marked the exact spot where he died. Looking more closely, it appeared that the simple cross was fairly new, and the Tuscan asked who maintained it. "Why, the two surviving boys of course, they regularly come up here, clear back the undergrowth and brambles, and leave fresh flowers." Those "boys", both now in their 90th year, keeping the memory of their lost childhood friend alive. Longevity of life and memory seems to be in the water in these parts. http://tuscantony.blogspot.com/2009/06/war-stories.html

That is a sad story. I suspect there are many stories like that from the war. Thanks for sharing. It puts the war into the right perspective. Unlike in the UK there were very few American civilians killed in WWII. The one incident I know of happen in Oregon. The Japanese sent over several hundred ballons that had explosives attached. Almost none of them did any damage. However one of them hit the mark. On May 5, 1945, a balloon bomb that had drifted over the Pacific killed five children and a woman. It exploded when a 13-year-old girl (Joan Patzke) attempted to pull the balloon from a tree during a church group picnic in the woods near Bly, Oregon. Having taken some local children on an outing, Reverend Archie Mitchell watched in horror as his wife, Elsie (or Elyse) Mitchell, and five children who accompanied them (ages 11 to 14) were killed. The minister escaped by luck of being a short distance behind. Those six were the only known victims of the balloon bombs. However, dangers of the balloon bomb still may exist. Hundreds were never found and may still constitute unexploded ordnance. The six who perished were the only known casualties inflicted by Japanese attack on the U.S. mainland during World War II.