Dear Readers,
As Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, a day of Remembrance for those who have died in our Nation's service, approaches (May 30th is the last Monday in May/passed by Congress in 1968 to ensure a three-day weekend for federal workers), I thought I'd review some World War I history between 1914-1918, when the United States and Italy were Allies, however, neither Italy nor the United States declared war in 1914. Italy declared war May 24, 1915 against Austria-Hungary and on Germany August 27, 1916. The USA and President Woodrow Wilson stayed neutral until he signed a declaration on April 6, 1917 taking the USA into war.
On November 11, 1918, the Armistice agreement was signed and fighting on all battlefields ceased at 11 a.m. The guns of World War I fell silent. After four long years and an estimated ten million dead, the "war to end all wars" was finally over.
In 1919 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as Armistice Day to remind Americans of the tragedy of war.
Here are some of the USA, Italy and world wide connections of World War I from 1914 to 1918:1914, on June 28th Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife were assassinated by the Serbian in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The Austrians made drastic demands on the Serbians to right this wrong, but the Serbs, backed by Russia, were no mood to be bullied by the Austrians.
On August 2nd, Germany invades Luxembourg, declared war on France and next invades Belgium. By August 4, Britain and Belgium have declared war on Germany. In Turkey, the Ottomans close and fortify the Dardanelles, the narrow straight separating Europe from Asia and connecting the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara (the Dardanelles were an important route for Russian grain to France and England and for arms and supplies to Russia).
On August 6th Austria declared war on Russia and Serbia declares war on Germany. A week later, Britain and France declare war on Austria and an expeditionary force lands in France. By August 20th German troops have taken Brussels in Belgium and a few days later Japan declares war on Germany and attacks the fortified German port of Qingdao on Chinese territory.
In Belgium, around Mons, the British are forced to retreat after bitter fighting with the Germans, but opening the war at sea, the British sank three German cruisers and two destroyers off the German-held island of Helgoland Bight in the North Sea. All this in the first month of World War I in 1914, when Austria's ultimatum to Serbia brought Russia in as Serbia's ally, Germany as Austria's ally, France as Russia's ally and if Germany had not invaded Belgium, Britain might have stayed out of it.
Weeks after war was declared by Britain and France against Germany, men from throughout the British Empire, Australia, Canada and New Zealand rushed to London to volunteer.
Volunteers from neutral USA rushed to Paris, France to sign up for the duration. Before 1914 ended, the Germans had taken Rheims, and German shells had left the beautiful cathedral of Rheims in shambles with nearly all of its stained glass windows blown out.
In the Falkland Islands, the British Navy sank 4 German cruisers, the Russians invaded Armenia and Hungary, Turkey attacked Russian ports, Britain annexed Cyprus and declared Egypt a protectorate, Qingdao, the German fortified port city in Chinese territory fell to the Japanese and in Istanbul, the Sultan declared "Jihad" Holy War on the Allies. Does "Jihad" sound familiar in 2011?
Although Italy had declared war against Austria-Hungary in May 1915 and soon after on Bulgaria, Italy did not declare war on Germany until August 27, 1916 and tanks, under valued by traditional commanders were used for the first time in battle by the Allies.
The war stretched on and in late October 1917 the Italian Army was shattered by a surprise German onslaught and was forced to retreat in disarray towards the Piave river, some fifteen miles from Venice.
The Italian army, which had comfortably held off the Austrians through 1916 and had captured the stronghold of Monte Santo only two months before and had seemed well entrenched in the mountains around Caporetto and Udine had been shattered by a surprise German gas attack, followed by a furious creeping barrage from artillery, which made the Italians suddenly vulnerable. Losses were high with 10,000 Italians dead, 30,000 wounded and nearly 300,000 troops captured. A year to the day, on October 30, 1918 the Austrian army completed its evacuation of the Italian territory after the Austrian army was defeated in the final battle of the conflict at Vittorio Veneto. The Italians captured over 600,000 prisoners, over 6,000 guns and ended the war with an Italian victory.
A week later on November 11, 1918 the World War I was over and the German army, reeling under Allied blows was in no position to haggle over the armistice terms which included Germany surrendering 5,000 heavy guns, 30,000 machine guns, 2,000 war planes, all its U-boats, 150,000 wagons and 5,000 trucks. The German Navy was interned in British waters and the Allied blockade on Germany remained in force to ensure the Germans would keep their word. And in Britain the Boy Scouts cycled through the streets sounding the "All Clear" on their bugles...
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In war there are no real winners...
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Memorial Day, inaugurated in 1868 by General John Logan for the purpose of decorating the graves of Civil War veterans, has since become a day when service men and women and all dead are commemorated.
Many bright Italian American lights have already been extinguished in 2011. In January, we lost Bob Dolfi, veteran (101st Airborne), restauranteur, publisher and Mario Lanza aficionado. Bob was a close friend of Mario's parents and his sons Marc and Damon. With Damon Lanza he founded The Lanza Legend, a newsletter and website devoted to keeping the name and voice of Mario Lanza alive. The website, Langland.com attracts readers and forum participants world-wide. Following the death in 2008 of Damon Lana, Bob continued the project in association with his wife Marlene D'Attanasio Dolfi and New Zea land broadcaster Lindsay Perigo.
Bob left behind many good friends, We will surely miss him. He coined the phrase; "Mario Lanza Brings Good People Together", and indeed he did.
Also dearly departed in January were noted Berkeley Nuclear Scientist Al Ghiorso and well-regarded society page regular, John Traina. John was born in San Francisco. John's father and my father-in-law's partner and "cugino" all came to America "on the same boat". As I recall, it was not the "Mayflower" so it was probably John's marriages to the lovely Diane "Dede" Buchanan and elegant novelist Danielle Steel that made him a society column favorite.
Mr. Traina was well-loved for his elan, his conversation and the ease at which he put people in social gatherings. He was always congenial, wearing a smile and proffering witty anecdotes to amuse people. He was also a renowned cigarette cases by Fabergé collector.
He was married for 16 years to Dede Buchanan, with whom he had two sons. After they divorced, she married real estate magnate Al Wilsey. Mr. Traina then wed best-selling author Danielle Steel. Together they raised eight children before they, too, divorced after 15 years.
"You'd have to go to Kuwait to find a man with a better entourage of wives and children- they loved him, and he loved them", said Trevor Traina, and Internet entrepreneur who was close to his father.
Mr. Traina attended local S.F. schools and graduated from Stanford University. He was a longtime shipping line executive, first running the passenger division of American President Lines, then working for Prudential Cruises, the first Western cruise line to sail to China. The line was used for an episode of the popular 1970's TV series "The Love Boat".
A lover of the fine arts, he was generous to his friends, hosting lavish summer barbecues for hundreds of guests on the Fourth of July at the Oakville home, and entertained many international jet-setters, including Italian film star Sophia Loren.
He also supported various international fine arts causes, including Venetian Heritage, which seeks to preserve artistic, cultural and intellectual exch-ange between the United States and Italy.
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In February we lost restaurateur Lea Marchesiello, who with her husband "Nino" once owned the "Old Colony" in San Francisco and the "Blue Rock Inn" in Larkspur.
Former Major League Baseball outfielder, U.P.S. career man and Galileo High School graduate Gino Cimoli also left us in February (donations in his memory- Galileo Athletics, c/o B. Grinnell, 1150 Francisco Street, S.F. California 94109, are still welcome) as did Dr. Myron Basso, a retired podiatrist who in 1978 with his daughter Gina founded the Ultimate Cookie Company.
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In March we mourned carpenter-contractor Guido Protti. I first met Guido at Old St. Mary's Center in San Francisco at a Catholic Singles Club. Shortly after Guido took a trip to Italy and was smitten by a red-head named Ada. Fast-forwarding, Guido and his wife of 53 years Ada were living happily in Alma Via, at One Thomas More Way in San Francisco where Father Efrem Trettel was one of their neighbors. Ada and Guido had two sons, John & Mark.
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Joseph Alioto, the restaurateur known affectionately as "Joey" left us on March 21st at age 59. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Joey's father Nunzio Alioto was a class act and so was Joey. In the S.F. Chronicle, John Wilder wrote in part "Almost from the time he started cracking crabs as a teenager outside his family's namesake restaurant until his death after a long illness, Joseph Alioto was a fixture on Fisherman's Wharf. 'Everybody knew Joey and he knew everyone' said Nunzio Alioto, his cousin and business partner. For decades, Mr. Alioto, 59, was the front-of-the-house man at Alioto's, greeting both tourists and regulars with a smile and a laugh. Mr. Alioto was the third generation of his family to run the restaurant, which is still family owned. It was opened in 1925 as a little fresh fish stall, where Nunzio Alioto, an immigrant from Sicily, and his wife Rosa, sold food to the local Italian workers. By 1938, it had become one of the first restaurants on the growing Fisherman's Wharf.
When Joey's cousin, attorney Joseph Alioto, became San Francisco's mayor in 1968, the restaurant became a hangout for Democratic politicians drawn by the famous name.
The restaurant has been a family business in every respect. Joey and cousin Nunzio grew up together. In a shared flat in the Marina and started working at the restaurant as teenagers, cracking crabs out on the street.
Mr. Alioto went to St. Vincent de Paul grammar school and was a 1969 graduate of St. Ignatius High School. He graduated from the hotel and restaurant program at City College of San Francisco and soon went to work at the restaurant, quickly becoming the public face of Alioto's. Nunzio Alioto said, 'Joey and I ran the business together for many years. We also managed to keep the family together, which isn't easy when you have 36 or 37 shareholders'.
Although he lived in San Rafael, Mr. Alioto remained deeply linked to the North Beach community. He was a past president of the Old Fisherman's Wharf Association and was know as a soft touch for any local charity. Mr. Alioto was the 2009 Man of the Year for the Salesian Boys and Girls Club, where he played basketball and other sports as a youth. 'People will remember Joey for his laughter, his sense of fun and his big, big heart'.
Mr. Alioto is survived by Judy, his wife of 35 years and four children, Nunzio, Marc, Alexa and Joey."
