Category Archives: Prisoners—Camp 59

Christopher Facchina—of Hut 4, Section 11

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Christopher Facchina (left) and his twin brother Columbus were born October 12, 1912 (Columbus Day—the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas).

I heard this week from Dennis Donehoo. He wrote, “My great uncle was Private Christopher Facchina.

“Christopher’s POW record states that he participated in Operation Torch, was captured at the Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, and was imprisoned at CC 59, Ascoli Piceno, Italy.”

Christopher Facchina was one of 35 men my father, Sgt. Armie Hill, was given charge of in the camp. See “Men of Hut 4—Section 11.”

“Your father mentions during his time as a POW he attended an ‘Italian class,” Dennis said. “Many pages of his journal read like an English-Italian Dictionary. [See “Armie Hill’s Camp Journal.”]

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More Commonwealth Inmates of P.G. 59

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The 30 men listed below were at one time interned in Camp 59. All were transferred to other camps before the September 1943 breakout. Dates of the men’s P.G. 59 internment are listed with their names.

Twenty-nine of the 30 soldiers are new to this site—Patrick Cahill is the one exception.

British researcher Brian Sims gleaned this information from his British National Archives data. I am most grateful to him for this generous contribution.

Unlike the 24 British soldiers listed in “British Escapees from Camp 59—New Names, who escaped to the Allied lines in the south, these 30 men found freedom via other routes. All returned home safely.

James Bough
Service Number—1086472
Gunner
102nd Regiment, Royal Artillery
Captured January 21, 1941—Sidi Rezegh, Libya
Camp 59 internment—January 23, 1942–January 24, 1943

Victor Boulter
Service Number—T/164744
Driver
Royal Army Service Corps
Captured April 8,1941—Fort Michelli
Camp 59 internment—March 1942–May 1943

R. C. R. Boulton
Service Number—5732581
Corporal
2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment
Captured December 4, 1942—Tunis, Tunesia
Camp 59 internment—March 5, 1942–June 3, 1943

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Enduring friendship—A Virgili/Vacca Reunion

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The Virgili and Vacca families at Pike’s Place Market in Seattle.

Left to right: Mario Vacca, Antoinette Perez (Tony’s daughter), Nancy Vacca (Mario’s wife), Maria Anna and Egisto Virgili, Tony Vacca, Joseph Perez (Antoinette’s husband), Cathie Vacca (Tony’s daughter), Christopher Howell (Cathie’s boyfriend), Brenda Vacca (Tony’s wife), Brendan Perez (Antoinette/Joseph’s son), and Alessandro Virgili, and in the very front is Alexis Perez (Antoinette/Joseph’s daughter).

Last March, I received a note from Mario Vacca, a son of Camp 59 escapee Felice “Phil” Vacca, announcing, “We’ve gotten news that some of the Virgili family are coming to Seattle this fall for a visit. They anticipate arriving on September 5 and staying five days.”

This was exciting news. Vacca brothers Mario, Tony, and Jim had kept in touch with the family who had sheltered their father since Tony made contact with the Virgilis in 1968. Egisto’s mother was Adele (Lelena) Virgili, who was a young woman when Phil lived with them.

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A Chat with Neil Torssell

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Neil Torssell passed over the rugged, beautiful terrain of Le Marche during his nine months “on the run” in 1943–44.

I first interviewed Neil Torssell in May 2008. An Interview with Neil Torssell covered his experience from the time of enlistment through the end of war.

Another interview, arranged though the Minnesota Historical Society’s Minnesota’s Greatest Generation Project, was recorded the year before.

On a follow-up phone visit with Neil on July 28, 2011, Neil shared more information with me about the time he was a fugitive in Italy.

My questions and comments below are in italic.

Neil, I have some additional questions I’d like to ask you.

You mentioned to me that when you escaped there were eight or nine of you together. You said there was somebody from New York who spoke Italian—Jimmy. You sent me the addresses of some of the guys you knew who were in the camp. I noticed there was a Jimmy Serrentino, and I was wondering if that was the Jimmy who was with you during the escape.

Yes, he was the one with us who spoke fluent Italian.

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Stourton Escape Documentary on BBC

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The BBC yesterday broadcast the first episode of a two-part documentary on the WW II breakout of Allied prisoners from Italian prison camps. The programs are the work of veteran journalist and author Edward Stourton.

This documentary was planned to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the September 1943 camp breakouts and the protection of the escapees by the Italian contadini.

Listen to Part 1 of “The Italian Freedom Trail” (www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038zcqh)

The far reach of the BBC ensures that this story will be heard not only in the UK, but around the world.

Stay tuned! Part 2 of Edward Stourton’s report is scheduled for broadcast next Friday, September 6.

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Peter Grillo—Surgery “Sans Anesthetic”

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This article is from Peter Grillo’s son Roy.

He explained, “Digging through lots of papers, I found another item which is very interesting. This is the story my dad used to tell me as I grew up and was asking questions.”

We know that Peter was interned at Camp 59 in Servigliano through a letter from the War Department to Peter’s wife dated July 24, 1943 (See “Peter Grillo—Captive“).

The article suggests the surgery was done in an Italian POW camp. However, there only two British medical officers in the camp at that time, no German doctors. Perhaps at one point Peter was interned in another camp or hospital in Italy where the surgery was performed by the German doctor.

It seems even more likely the surgery was actually done after his transfer to Germany. According to the U.S. National Archives, Peter was last interned in Stalag 2B Hammerstein in Germany.

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The Virgili Family

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A few days ago Mario Vacca, one of Phil Vacca’s sons, sent me this information on the Virgili family during WW II.

The information, provided by Egisto Virgili, is below in both Italian and English.

Egisto and his family will be visiting Mario and his brother Tony here in the U.S. next month.

Con molto piacere cercherò di spiegarvi come era composta la famiglia Virgili. Mi pare di aver capito che le vostre conoscenze sono limitate a Elena, Sergio, Luigia ed alla loro mamma, Maria in quanto erano quelli presenti nel periodo in cui vostro padre, Felice, è stato loro ospite. In realtà i componenti erano otto (8). I genitori: Settimio e Maria con sei (6) figli: Nicola (1905), Erminia (1909), Elena (1910), Sergio (1914), Emilio (1916) e Luigia(1917).

With pleasure will I try to explain to you the makeup of the Virgili family. I think I understand that your knowledge is limited to Elena, Sergio, Luigia, and their mother, Mary, as they were the ones present at the time your father, Felice, was their guest. In reality there were eight in the family. Parents: Settimio and Maria with six children: Nicola (born 1905), Erminia (1909), Elena (1910), Sergio (1914), Emilio (1916), and Luigia (1917).

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Lost U.S. Military Records

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Official letter concerning Armie Hill’s destroyed military records

An inquirer to this site wrote to me last fall that in his search for military records concerning his father, he had come up short. He explained, “I do have a copy of the SF-180, but since the fire in 1973 his official army records may never be known.”

In 1991, my own father, Armie Hill, learned of that fire when, in response to my family’s urging, he wrote to Congressional representative Toby Roth about possible eligibility for a medal he had not received but might be entitled to—the Silver Star.

When I interviewed my dad about his war experiences in 1976, he had told me that after leaving Camp 59, he and fellow escapee Ben Farley were among the first to reach the Allied line—having traveled some 300 miles from Servigliano through the mountains of central Italy to Termoli in just 31 days.

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B-24 Bomber Crash Commemorated

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Frammenti di Storia poster—courtesy Matteo Pierro, Salerno 1943 Air Finders

Tomorrow in the commune of Pietragalla, Italy, community members will gather for a memorial service in honor of the crew of the American B-24 bomber known as the Fyrtle Myrtle.

The plane crashed 70 years ago this summer—on July 16, 1943.

A group of Italian avian archaeologists of the Salerno 1943 Air Finders group in Italy recovered the wreckage of the Fyrtle Myrtle last year.

The full story of the Fyrtle Myrtle is told on the “B-24 Bomber Fyrtle Myrtle Discovered” post.

Three men survived the crash. Staff Sergeant Edward T. Dzierzynski is listed in the WW II POW database of the U.S. National Archives as having been interned in Camp 59. Although the camp that Staff Sergeant Cyrus F. Johnson Jr. was in is not specified in the database, he likely was held in Camp 59 as well and escaped with Edward Dzierzynski (official records indicate the two men returned to the Allied forces on the same day).

The third survivor, Staff Sergeant Robert E. Dulac, who was badly injured in the crash, was taken to a hospital in Potenza, Italy.

Cyrus F. Johnson is survived by his sons Ron and John Johnson. Lloyd Eldon Kile, who died in the crash, is survived by a nephew, Dennis Heter. I am unaware of any relatives of the other crew members.

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