A veteran's death

American Cemetery Florence, Italy

Growing up I never really knew my father's side of the family. My mother was too much of a snob to want us to have anything to do with those foreigners. They were French Canadians who had migrated to New England in the 1920s.

As an adult I got to know my aunts and uncles and my cousins. I discovered that they were not ignorant foreigners (all were naturalized, but were fun and very loving people).

I met most of them  for the first time when my father gave me a surprise bridal shower. I was about to go overseas to join my new husband who was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany. I opened envelope after envelope of money and looked around the room trying to identify who Aunt Evelyn or cousin Marilyn were.

Over the years, I got to know most of them, some became close. We've visited back and forth.

Lately my cousin Carol (whose daughter was born the same day as mine was) has been sending me information she has about the family. She was aware that pre-pandemic I was planning to visit my father's birthplace and the island where my grandfather had been in charge of lighthouse. That trip will mostly be postponed.

She sent me information about my Uncle Joseph, my Aunt Bert's twin. He was killed September 29, 1944 and was buried in the American Cemetery in Florence. I have the information I need to visit his grave.

I wish I could tell him about everyone in the family, of the things they did, the kids that were born, of life that went on afterwards, of the holiday get togethers with tons of food, of my dad's boat, of how happy Bert was when she moved to Florida in retirement. Or maybe that would be cruel, because it was what he had missed, of what war had robbed him of.  This is Memorial Day weekend. My Uncle Joseph was only one man of the hundreds of thousands who have died for the United States since 1775. How wonderful if there were never any more.

	31138333
Rank	Staff Sergeant U.S. Army
Entered Service From	Massachusetts
Date of Death	September 29 1944
Buried	Plot D Row 5 Grave 17 Florence American Cemetery Florence American Cemetery Via Cassia S.N. 50023 Tavarnuzze (Firenze) Italy