Category Archives: Prisoners—Camp 59

Antonio Ferretti—A Welcome in Falciano

Antonio Ferretti (seated, far right, with handlebar mustache) with a few of the villagers of Falciano. Falciano had a population of 110 residents in 1940. Today the village has 15 residents.

My good friend Gian Paolo Ferretti, who lives in Ascoli Piceno, was born in Falciano—a small village within the comune of Acquasanta Terme, Italy. His family moved from Falciano in 1975, when Paolo was very young.

Paolo’s great grandfather was one of many Falciano villagers who assisted a group of escaped POWs—including Keith Argraves—who turned up in their village in the fall of 1943.

(See “Keith Argraves and Friends—‘Prisoners and Fugitives’.”)

“American soldiers who were escaped prisoners from Camp 59 were given refugee in my small village. Tales of them are becoming legend,” Paolo wrote. “A cave/stable where they slept is on the property of my family. The book Keith Argraves, Paratrooper has been the start of all my research.”

I asked Paolo about the spelling of the village name, because on today’s maps the village is spelled Falciano, but Keith Argraves refers to it as Falgiano. Paolo answered, “In the past the village name was Falgiano, now Falciano. These are changes in the language. Also, those with the name Brandimarte now spell it Brandimarti.” (As you will see, Captain Saturnino Brandimarte figures prominently in this village rescue saga.)

“The soldiers were in a wood of chestnuts. They slept in a cave or stable on the property of my family. During the day they came to the village and stayed with local people. The soldiers helped with farm work.

“One of those villagers was my great grandfather Antonio Ferretti. The prisoners usually talked with him, because Antonio once went to work in the U.S.—in Pittsburgh—during the 1908–1914 period.

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Keith Argraves and Friends—“Prisoners and Fugitives”

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Title page of *Keith Argraves, Paratrooper*

I recently purchased through Amazon a book I have heard about for years, and that I have long wanted to own.

Keith Argraves, Paratrooper by George W. Chambers (published in 1946 by the Southern Publishing Association of Nashville, Tennessee) was among the first Allied POW narratives to be written and published after the war.

The memoir is Keith’s experience as told through George W. Chambers, an Arizona businessman, civic leader, and amateur historian.

The edition I purchased was printed by Kessinger Publishing as part of their Legacy Reprints series. I’m thrilled to finally own the book. Many such POW memoirs have long been out of print and are hard to find.

The original subtitle for Keith’s book suggests the full sweep of his impressive adventure: An Account of the Service of a Christian Medical Corpsman in the United States Army Paratroopers during World War II, with Thrilling Stories of Training, Battles, Imprisonment, Escapes, Guerrilla Warfare, Hunger, Torture, and Faithfulness to Man and God.

Regarding the last item in the subtitle, I should mention that Keith, as a Seventh-day Adventist, abstained from drinking or smoking, studied his Bible daily, prayed for guidance and strength, and lived his faith to the best of his ability.

Keith’s memoir was written as a faith testimony, as is made clear an introduction by church elder C. Lester Bond: “ … the hero of this narrative, is only one of approximately 12,000 Seventh-day Adventist youth of North America who gave loyal service to their country while at the same time maintaining their devotion to God and His cause. Their faithfulness under the stress and strain of war has been a great inspiration to their fellow youth and to the church as a whole.”

Keith acknowledged his fellow POWs in this dedication:

In APPRECIATION of the loyalty and fellowship of those who shared the dangers and sufferings of our lot as prisoners and fugitives, I dedicate this book to

Daniel and Francis Cole,
Warren Decker,
Mahlon Black, and
Alfred Natassi [Nastasi].

My friend Robert A. Newton, author of Soldiers of the Strange Night, profiled Keith in a chapter entitled “Brave Men.” I asked Robert if he had been in contact with Keith while researching his book.

Robert replied, “Keith had passed before I started my search, but I did speak to Warren Decker, also a paratrooper, on the phone. He told me about Keith’s book and sent me a photocopy. I also spoke to Alfred Nastasi. Several of the other ex-POWs I contacted asked about Argraves. He was widely respected and made quite an impression on his fellow internees. Some remembered him as ‘Hargraves.’ The fact that he escaped the clutches of the Germans several times is amazing.”

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Ben Farley’s Ultimate Sacrifice

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The grave of Private B. F. Farley, 1923–1945, in the Farley Cemetery, Hatfield, Kentucky (USA). Apparently Ben Farley is buried beside his father, Bertran “Bert” Farley, and his maternal grandmother.

It’s Memorial Day in the United States, a national holiday set aside for the honoring of military personnel who died in service of their country.

I am remembering and honoring one soldier in particular: Private Benjamin F. Farley.

The name Ben Farley has been one I’ve known for nearly all my life. My father, Sergeant Armie Hill, a former PG 59 POW, used to tell my brothers, sister, and me stories about how he escaped from the camp in September 1943, and how he and Ben paired up together outside the camp walls that night and resolved to stick together during their flight. They headed south and 30 days later were among the first escapees to cross the Allied lines.

Armie recorded the story of his and Ben’s escape in two audio sessions that are posted on Camp 59 Survivors: “Escape—Armie Hill’s First Account” and “Escape—Armie Hill’s Second Account.’’

In PG 59, Armie, was designated a section sergeant (or orderly sergeant) and put in charge of a section of 35 men (Hut 4–Section 11). As Ben was among the men in his section, Armie would have gotten to know him well in the camp.

Ben could be feisty. “He and I hadn’t gotten along especially well earlier,” Armie said. “He was kind of a little cocky guy.”

He was short—5’6″ tall, and weighed 119 pounds.

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Don Giuseppe Ciabattoni—A Hero of Faith

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Don Giuseppe Ciabattoni (left), on a 1936 visit to the ninth-century church of Santa Maria di Scalelle; most likely he is accompanied by aspirants of the Catholic Action Youth

I am profoundly grateful to several individuals who have made possible access to the information for this post.

First, a hearty thanks to my friend Gian Paolo Ferretti of Ascoli Piceno, Italy. Paolo contacted me last November about his great grandfather Antonio Ferretti who, on his property in Falciano, sheltered several American POWs who had escaped from PG 59.

In emails with Paolo, I shared a few details about my father’s time on the run after his escape from PG 59. I explained that Angela Bianchini had protected my father (Armie Hill) and his friend Ben Farley in Roccafluvione.

In 2010, I had visited Roccafluvione hoping to learn more about Angela, and I wrote about that visit afterward (see “In Search of Armie’s Italian Angels”). It was during the trip to Roccafluvione that I learned the name of Don Giuseppe Ciabattoni.

Paolo surprised me with news that he had arranged a meeting with Guido Ianni, deputy mayor of Roccafluvione, to discuss our quest. The deputy mayor was eager to help us learn more about Angela and Don Giuseppe Ciabattoni, and during Paolo’s meeting with him he was introduced to Antonio Ferretti, a young man working on a research project in the comune archives.

Antonio immediately began to hunt for information.

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Sea Rescue and a Moment of Compassion

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First Lieutenant Mario Mancino, a pilot of the Italian Air Force; photo taken in 1943 at the Syracuse seaplane base, from which Mancino carried out his duties as the commander of the air rescue section

CANT Z.506 seaplane of the 612th Squadron

On 30 April 1943, returning from a raid on the ferry slips at Messina, Sicily, the B-24 bomber on which American airmen John Gaffney and Albert Romero were crew members was shot down over the Mediterranean.

Seven crew members who died included 1st Lieutenant W. C. Swarner and Technical Sergeant Andrew Huska; both initially survived the crash but became panic-stricken, swallowed sea water, and drowned.

Survivors Staff Sergeant Gaffney and Sergeant Romero were picked up at sea by an Italian Air Force rescue plane.

Luigi Fedele recently wrote to me from Italy:

“My uncle—my mother’s brother—was the Pilot Crew Chief of the Italian CANT Z.506 seaplane who saved the two American ‘enemy’ airmen.

“He brought the body of Sergeant Huska on board the aircraft, even though the sergeant was already dead and the air rescue operational procedures did not allow it. In the report, to justify himself, my uncle wrote that Sergeant Huska had died during the return flight. He wanted him to be given a dignified burial as a Christian and a soldier.

When he saw Sergeant Romero crying for the death of his friend, my uncle approached him and kissed him on the cheeks, the way of offering condolences in southern Italy, to share in the pain of a ‘man’ who had lost his own ‘Brother.’

Of course, the rescue at sea by the Italian Air Force also meant capture.

As prisoners of war, Staff Sergeant Gaffney and Sergeant Romero eventually were interned in P.G. 59. For their full story, read “John Gaffney and Albert Romero Survive Crash to be Interned in P.G. 59.”

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Tom Mandese—A Grandson’s Journey

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Five P.G. 59 escapees who were sheltered in the Monte San Martino area; in back (left to right), Peter Calvagno, Edmond Petrelli, and Joe Mandese; in front, Tony Spicola and Phil Vacca

When American Tom Mandese traveled to Italy last September, he went with a dual purpose.

One reason for the trip was to attend the “Paths to Freedom” event in Servigliano and to see PG 59, the camp where his grandfather, Joe Mandese, had been interned during WWII. The other, equally important, purpose was to visit the descendants of Enrico and Rosa Cardinali, who had protected his grandfather from mid-September 1943 to early June 1944.

Enrico Cardinali and his wife Rosa, seated, with Enrico’s three sisters behind them

“One of my aunts, Aunt Rose—Rose Anne (Mandese) Serpa—had been to Italy a number of years ago and met some of the family,” Tom told me. “During that trip, she met the Cardinali granddaughters. So my family had already established a little bit of a relationship.”

When I saw Tom on the first day of “Paths to Freedom,” he had just come from the Cardinali home. He was aglow from the experience and keen to share it.

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A VanSlooten-Palmoni Family Reunion

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Louis VanSlooten’s son Tom VanSlooten and daughter Karen Miersma embrace Antonello Palmoni

Last September, during the “Paths to Freedom” (Sentieri di Libertà) celebration to honor the 80th anniversary of the Italian Armistice and the breakout of Allied POWs from Italian camps, several attendees had the thrilling experience of meeting descendants of the Italian families who protected their father or grandfather.

This post is about the meeting of two of escaped POW Louis VanSlooten’s children, Tom VanSlooten and Karen Miersma, and Antonello Palmoni.

Antonello’s grandmother Iginia and grandfather Luigi Palmoni hid and fed Louis and fellow PG 59 escapee Luther Shields.

Antonello’s father, Marino Palmoni, was a 10-year-old boy when the desperate soldiers emerged from the woods near his family’s home to ask for food.

Read “Martino Palmoni on the Sheltering of the POWs” and “Louis VanSlooten’s Story.”

The old Palmoni home is nestled against a bluff, below the comune of Montefalcone Appennino

Tom VanSlooten was accompanied on this Italian adventure by his wife Carmen, and Karen by her husband Tom Miersma.

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Postcard from a Past Christmas

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My friends here in America tend to regard the holiday season as beginning on Thanksgiving Day and ending on January 1. However, my British friends, well versed in old lore and traditions, realize that Christmas begins on Christmas Eve and ends on the night of January 5th—Twelfth Night, or Epiphany Eve—the twelve days of Christmas being the span of days between.

Therefore, to celebrate the close of Yuletide, I’m pleased to share with you a gift I received from Derek Porter on New Year’s Day: the scan of a Christmas postcard sent from PG 59 during the war.

Dated 1 October 1942, the card reads:

Dear Joyce,

No Flowers, No Presents,
But just a card,
To carry my Greetings to you,
May every hour of your Christmas be gay,
And every year to come bring joys anew.

All my love
Albert

The card was sent by Albert Frank Myhill to his fiancée Joyce.

Albert Myhill was not soon to return to England and his beloved Joyce. Records show he was transferred to the work camps of PG 146 in northern Italy; after the Italian Armistice in September 1943, he found himself a prisoner of the Germans in Stalag IVB Muhlberg.

The return address on the card is:

Albert Frank Myhill
Gunner 1557752 23/7
P.G. 59. P.M. 3300
Italia

It is addressed to:

Miss J. Hammond
18 Short Brackland
Bury St. Edmunds
Suffolk
England

I’m looking forward to learning more about Albert from his son-in-law Derek and Albert’s daughter Sarita.

Follow the Camp 59 Survivors for future posts on Albert.

Two Pavese Helper Priests

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“Many priests in the villages of Pavese helped the Pows,” according to Massimo “Max” Piacentini (a researcher with the Istituto Pavese di storia della Resistenza e dell’età contemporanea) .

“Don Mario Grugni was a highly-esteemed pastor for many years in Ceranova. But the most important was Don Piero Angelini, pastor of Vairano, about 4 kilometers from Ceranova. Here was the camp of our Pows. Don Piero was an agent of the Ufficio Assistenza Prigionieri Alleati of CLN, and he saved many Pows (I have his memoirs).

“I think Don Piero and Don Mario certainly collaborated with each other to assist and save the local Pows. Also, Don Piero hid Pows in the bell tower and in the attic of his church in Vairano.”

A Don Mario Grugni memorial plaque in Ceranova, Italy. The two photos are of Don Mario Grugni at different ages.

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Dr. Domenico Lunghi—A Safe Harbor for Four Former PG 59 POWs

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I’ve recently received a great deal of help and guidance from Massimo “Max” Piacentini, a researcher at the Istituto Pavese per la storia della Resistenza e dell’età contemporanea.

In 1991 Bill Armitt (right) took his wife Hilda back to the scene of his escape, where they met with Dr. Domenico Lunghi (at left)—photo by Hilda Armitt, courtesy Victoria Theatre Archive

Istoreco (istorecopavia.it), founded in 1956, is part of the national network of the Ferruccio Parri Institute. An important leader of the Italian Resistance, Parri understood the importance of preserving the documents of the resistence for posterity. In 1943 he charged his friend Giuseppe Bacciagaluppi with creation of the Ufficio Assistenza prigionieri Alleati of the CLN (Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale, or National Liberation Committee). The organization saved more than 1,500 Allied escaped POWs by guiding them to Switzerland. Documents relating to these saved POW are preserved in Fondo: Bacciagaluppi at the Istituto Parri of Milano. Istoreco of Pavia keeps documents such as the arrest records of POWs in Provincia di Pavia and an archive of oral sources, including interviews with local helpers.

“My current research,” Max explained, “concerns the Pow camps in the Pavese area and the helpers who offered assistance to the fugitive prisoners after 8 September 1943. In the course of my research, I came across several Pows from camp PG 59 who were transferred in the spring of ’43 to the labor camps of Pavese, in particular to PG 146/23 Landriano.

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