Very moving commemorations for the start of the Great War 1914-18 which eventually led to WWII and caused me to remember the Achia family participation in WWII. Eliseos father was a career soldier who served in Mussolinis forces, then was captured by the British in Cairo and spent time in a POW camp in England. Eliseo, in opposition to his fathers politics, joined the partisans after Mussolini fell and went into hiding, sniping on the Germans and seeing ten of his friends shot as a reprisal for killing a German soldier. Not wanting to die aged only 18, Eliseo then left the partisans and was forced to work for the German army, driving ammunition to the front at Cassino, near Naples. The family witnessed the landing at Anzio, where there was firece fighting, and thousands of dead, before evacuation back to Spogna in Abruzzo. It is possible that Eliseos mood swings and sudden rages were a consequence of post traumatic stress disorder, caused by traumatic wartime experiences during his late teens; the Achia familys war later became our war, and caused us all great distress during our years together. Anyone with family members who endured WWII, or more recent conflicts, may wonder how much difficult, secretive, angry or addictive behaviour might have been caused by traumatic experiences in combat, or as a civilian, in war zones.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 23:42:54 +0000
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