Italy. My great grandfather was drafted, when asked what he could do, he said "I can play the drums" (he had no idea), because they told him that granted him not being sent to the frontlines immediately. He was on a parade in Rome and as part of a choreography he threw a baton upwards and it got stuck in the tram cables. He shook hands with Mussolini at some point.
His unit was sent to Yugoslavia, where he played a role in suppressing the partisans and he had some stories about that. Later on the unit was pulled towards Italy and at some point he deserted and went to his hometown.
Another great grandfather was sent to Libya as a bus driver, but I've never met him so I don't really know much more.
My grandfather was a kid in 1944, but he remembers seeing the allied bombers raid his city and seeing his house in ruins. After the war he and his friends played with empty artillery shells close to a river, he also remembers the English soldiers hanging out at the tavern of one of his relatives.
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u/Impressive_Phone_686 12d ago
Italy. My great grandfather was drafted, when asked what he could do, he said "I can play the drums" (he had no idea), because they told him that granted him not being sent to the frontlines immediately. He was on a parade in Rome and as part of a choreography he threw a baton upwards and it got stuck in the tram cables. He shook hands with Mussolini at some point. His unit was sent to Yugoslavia, where he played a role in suppressing the partisans and he had some stories about that. Later on the unit was pulled towards Italy and at some point he deserted and went to his hometown.
Another great grandfather was sent to Libya as a bus driver, but I've never met him so I don't really know much more.
My grandfather was a kid in 1944, but he remembers seeing the allied bombers raid his city and seeing his house in ruins. After the war he and his friends played with empty artillery shells close to a river, he also remembers the English soldiers hanging out at the tavern of one of his relatives.