After airborne school, Eileen and I reported to Fort Bragg, North Carolina where we were assigned married junior officer quarters. Married junior officer quarters back then was a quaint three bedroom half of a duplex. The master bedrooms were back to back and the walls were thin enough of that you could definitely tell, well, you know. We didn’t care. We were confused as to what to do with the other bedrooms but we would figure that out over time.
Most of my belongings were in storage in Augusta, GA and the Army was suppose to deliver it to Fayetteville, NC (a 4 hour drive) as soon as we got a house. With classic Army efficiency, it would take four months as they somehow lost the luggage. We didn’t care. We had an air mattress and we were together.
Eileen and I very much enjoyed being four hours from Savannah. It is the perfect distance. It is far enough away to to politely decline any invitation to events we did not want to go to. It was close enough to make any event we did want to make. Because of the distance, guests felt it was appropriate to call before visiting. We would maintain a loving but politically neutral relationship with our families. We would stay out of family politics and just try to love everyone. Think of it as we are the family version of Switzerland. Everyone likes to visit. Everyone likes a call from Switzerland. Everyone feels better afterwards.
We all Start from the Bottom
The Army is a meritocracy. You start at the bottom and work your way up. As an officer, that means you start as a second lieutenant (2LT) with entry level pay. My 1983 monthly pay as a 2nd LT was $1,098.90 (base pay) + $110 (airborne pay) or $1,208.90 a month. My housing costs were covered by the Army but was valued at $290.70 a month. This means Eileen and I made about $18,000 a year. Like many Americans, my wife had to work to make ends meet and to start putting away some small amount of money to grow. Because Eileen worked, we were eventually able to buy a washer and a dryer. The storage unit under the bed was built from sheets of plywood. My computer desk was built from sheets of plywood. We still have both.
These frugal first years influenced us for the rest of our lives. We worked to pay off our debt and save money. Room by room, we slowly bought inexpensive furniture when it went on sale or built it from plywood if we could not wait. We did not perceive ourselves as poor but everything purchased was prioritized and often with long wait periods. Car wash was at the house. Oil change was at the house. Spark plug change was at the house. Yard work was a weekend activity.
Our delights were simple. I would go to work at 0630 every morning and get home around 5 or 6. There was an open field near our house. We would have dinner together and then go for a walk with our dog Isis. If I was not in the field, our weekends were open to explore North Carolina, play inexpensive golf at Pope Air Force Base, or just relax at the house. I jumped out of perfectly safe airplanes every month and that normally was followed by a short field exercise. Dinner out was rare but it did happen. The Officer’s Club was priced where we could eat there occasionally.
Infrequently, there would be a required social event at a senior officer’s house. Eileen and I would dress in formal military attire, drop our nicely imprinted military business card in the crystal plate at the entryway, and engage in polite conversation like you did in an earlier era.
Isis, the Highlander Dog of Magic
We got our first dog from the wife of a classmate, David Amberger, who worked at a animal rescue center. We named the dog Isis after the Egyptian god of magic. Isis was an interesting dog as they all are. She had her own personality. She was part German Sheppard and part something else else – maybe Dachshund. She was very protective and loved humans. Isis was also a huge Highlander movie fan and believed there could only be one. One dog and that it was her role in life to kill all the other dogs. She was squat, fast, 60 pounds of pure muscle, and fully committed to be the last dog alive. Think a combination honey badger and wolverine in terms of fighting. Size of the other dog really did not matter as she was going to win. Needless to say, we loved the protective Isis but she was always on a lease.
Isis had a penchant to jump on the top of the sectional back and patrol. She could see out the window from there and ensure the proper amount of fear in everyone approaching the house.
It is important to note while discussing Isis that my father loved her. Not previously mentioned but Isis also believed that the best version of a future world involved cats in trees. She never physically attacked a cat. She just chased them all into trees. She had uncanny ability to chase multiple cats into trees and keep them in trees for hours. My father thought this was spectacularly funny and a great spectator sport.
Friends and Simple Gatherings
We had old friends and made new friends at Fort Bragg Victory like you do in the military. My high school classmate and friend Paul Murphy was assigned to Fort Bragg. I had several West Point classmates/friends including David Amberger, Bill Bennett, Mike Longo, Pam Prentiss and Scotty Miller).
We made a number of new friends including Dave and Kathy Griffin, Randy and Nancy Pestona, Scott and Cathy McQuaig, Ben and Jennifer Reali, and Hutch and Tammy Hutchinson.
As noted above, all of us had started at the bottom of the Army meritocracy. Thus, none of us had a lot of money and all of us were in the Army and working all the time. It was the simple things in life that were our delights during this time in our lives. Things like:
- Gathering together to watch TV and share a potluck dinner;
- Watching the post fireworks from the roof of a house;
- Playing cards, or inexpensive golf, or drinking games with inexpensive alcohol;
- Digging out basements and building furniture out of plywood because we could not afford to do it any other way.
Towards the end of our time at Fort Bragg, I competed for and won the opportunity to join the 3/325th Infantry Combat Team (Airborne). I use the verb compete because the combat team was about to deploy for three years to Vicenza, Italy and a number of young signal officers were interested in the position. It would be a regimental deployment meaning the entire unit would rotate at the same time. I served with them for several months before we prepared to deploy. The 23 officers and their wives in the combat team gathered together for our farewell to Fort Bragg in a memorable toga party.
The toga party thankfully was hosted by our next door neighbors which meant we need only walk across the yard to get home. Little did we know that short expanse would be much longer by the end of the night. There are three legends were created that night:
- As we entered a house that we had many times in the past, we encountered a new addition: IV bottles suspended from the ceiling filled with hard alcohol. The contest was for how long you could go with the tap fully open. The record was in excess of 30 seconds.
- A young lieutenant arrived with his fiancée. He participated in the IV bottle challenge and in the process, forgot that his fiancée was there. He decided that best addition to the current party would be accomplished by going to the officer’s club and bringing back several young ladies. He was successful in this task but was utterly and completely surprised upon his return that his fiancée, soon to be former fiancée, was in attendance at the toga party. It was as ugly of a breakup as you can imagine.
- Eileen and I meandered back to our house where we engaged in an experiment. One of us promptly went to the restroom and expelled all of the alcohol consumed. One of us went to bed and suffered the next day. It would not be our last toga party but it was the last one where we consumed too much alcohol.
Priceless
The fellowship of true friends who can hear you out, share your joys, help carry your burdens, and correctly counsel you is priceless.
After two years at Fort Bragg Victory, Eileen and I packed up our meager belongings and along with Isis the highlander dog of magic, we boarded a unit plane and headed to Italy. We flew into Padua where the Army had reserved a mud bath resort spa as temporary lodging for the combat team. While this sounds luxurious, you could also describe it as non-air conditioned, mosquito infested hotel with distinctly earthy odors. Eileen and I didn’t care. The food was excellent, the alcohol was most excellent, the ice was bad, and the people was welcoming and especially so if you even tried to speak Italian. We were in a foreign country and it was going to be an adventure.
Within 12 hours, our sponsor, 1LT John Marriott, picked us up from the luxury spa mosquito infested hotel and we were headed to Venice. This would be the first time in my life that I would encounter something priceless. It happened at the Basilica of Saint Mark Cathedral and specifically at the Pala d’Oro. On one hand, it made me pause in wonder at the immense wealth represented by the jewels, gold, and craftsmanship of the altar. On the other hand, how many lives could have been saved if the money went to the poor instead of the embellishment of what should be a place of worship. I could not resolve the two conflicting thoughts at the time. We had a great first visit to Venice and over the next five years, we would return many times to explore this fascinating city. This would be a great beginning to our Italian sojourn.
We would live in a small American community about a mile from Caserma Ederle where I worked as the senior signal officer of the 3/325th Airborne Combat team. There was a back path to the base so I would normally bike to work everyday. The house was on a cul da sac and our neighbors included Kathy and Scott McQuaig, Randy and Nancy Pestona, Hutch and Tammy Hutchinson, as well as two other families we cannot remember the name of. Eileen continued to work in preschool education to supplement my meager pay as a Army officer. We were very happy. Every weekend, we would be off to another Italian destination.
Becoming Italian
We continued to strengthen our knowledge of the Italian language and took formal language classes a couple of days a week. This normally involved Eileen and I rushing to the class after work and grabbing a very non nutritious meal from the Burger King. Our classmates consisted of similarly frazzled individuals and others who only seem to only have one thing to do all day and that was to prepare for class and already spoke five other romantic languages. This led to a class tension that the instructor strove, and occasionally failed, to keep under control. Regardless, Eileen quickly picked up Italian and I became functional in common tasks. We labeled everything in the house in Italian and tried to speak Italian as often as we could. The Italians were very appreciative that we tried and helped us deepen our understanding of their language and culture. We considered this a matter of respect to the local culture and something we strive to do everytime we visit another country.
Driving in Italy can best be illustrated through a joke. Driving in Europe can best be described by what is permitted and prohibited. In France, everything is permitted except that which is prohibited. In Germany, everything is prohibited except that which is permitted. In Italy, everything is permitted and especially those things that are prohibited. The Italian drivers are very good drivers but you do have to pay attention as rules do not really apply. We drove for five years in Italy and never had an accident and I picked up, perhaps, some bad expectations that other drivers, in other countries, like the United States, were paying attention as well when driving. I would be sorely disappointed repeatedly.
Our favorite place to eat was a small trattoria named Due Torri (Two Towers). There are maybe ten tables and a bar in the trattoria. When we first visited, we thought the meal was over and were about to leave when the owner came up and told us to sit back down and enjoy our after dinner drink. We told him we had not ordered one and he said it was included in the meal and we drank it at the bar. He remembered our names and talked with us every time we visited which was often in our five years in Italy. We left in 1991 and had a chance to return in 1996 when I had to present a paper at an academic conference. The owner recognized us, chidded us for moving back to the United States and sat down and had dinner with us to catch up as, in his words, we are family. We are looking forward to return as soon as we can.
Eileen and I adopted the Italian pace of meals when we ate out and came to enjoy it. There was time to enjoy eat other’s company in-between each course and relax in the moment. There were no cell phones or email. It became a delightful pause in the day. As part of that pause, we became accustomed to a single glass of amaretto to be gently sipped and treasured.
While eating out in Italy, I enjoyed many Italian dishes but would always ask what is the house recipe that is not on the menu. It was often a risotto of some form and I was rewarded for asking for it. My other approach was to scan the menu and select the Frutti Di Mare. In Italy, Fruitti Di Mare means fruit of the sea and could be anything from lobster to fried minnows whole. It was always a surprise and always something I continue to enjoy. As an aside, Eileen who was always a good cook became adept at Italian cooking and her risotto asparagus is truly extraordinary.
Our favorite place to go, and often with the McQuaig family, was Lake Garda. It was an hour away, completely free, and quite lovely. Our first visit was to the northern coast to watch the energetic Italian wind surfers. Sitting on the beach eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and watching Matthew and Meagan play in the sand, two topless, very young and attractive Italian girls came over to chat and enjoy the children. For them, it was the most natural thing to do. For Scott and I, it would be part of our journey to becoming Italian.
On subsequent visits, we would often go to Sirmione on Lake Garda. It is easy to get to, a lovely town with Roman ruins, a beach, and a fantastic view of the mountains surrounding Lake Garda. On one such visit, I was doing what all dear family friends do and repeatedly launching Matthew and Megan McQuaig into the water for the thousandth time. On one such launch, my wedding and West Point ring went with Meagan into deep water. No one moved and Scott dived in to find the rings and did! I put the rings away and resumed my launching of Matthew and Megan into water amidst their peals of laughter.
Adventures Across Italy
Venice
The first place we visited was Venice and we would go back 20 or more times during our five years in Italy including Carnival. After the first couple of visits, we had hit all of the tourist stops and our Italian was good enough that we could just wander the city, its neighborhoods and islands looking for a hidden gem or tasty trattoria.
Saint Mark’s – By Zairon – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73966842,
Altar of Gold – By Gérard – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40077038
A couple of firsts occurred in Venice for me. As a young man, the Pala d’ Oro in Saint Marks Basilica was the first time I saw an object that was truly priceless in my mind. During a visit to a nearby island, I saw a wood carving that depicted agony of the crucifixion that I and everyone was quietly weeping. I pondered our place in time as I considered that Giacomo Casanova was one of only two to successfully escape the Dodge prison in last thousand years. Will I ever do something at that level of difficulty?
We learned to settle into the pace of Italian life with an espresso, some bread, cheese, and meat and our contented selves enjoying the scene for the afternoon. It was the simple pleasures in life that filled our weekends. Watching the tourists, young children, and pigeons from one of the cafes along Piazza San Marco was worth the extra cost.
For Carnivale, we arrived early and secured a desired seat at a restaurant on the main channel north of Saint Marks for some great food and to people watch. The people did not disappoint, and I marveled at how much effort had gone into their costumes and their masks. At some point, the crowds became overwhelming and we headed to the train and our home a mere hour away.
We have two paintings from Venice that we bought from street artists. The art quality was exceptionally good for what we paid and as was typical during that time, there was a bit of haggling. The framing cost more than what we spent on the painting. Forty years later, the paintings still capture the magic of our time in Venice.
I would be remiss if I did not mention that the soldiers in my unit thought one of the best places to meet young ladies was the Venice train station. Of course, these were the same soldiers who went to the nude beaches in Yugoslavia and get sunburn in areas you NEVER want to be sunburn. Some experiences are best viewed from afar.
Vo
Vo is north of Vicenza and has a winery that Eileen and I were fond of. We just called it the Vo Winery but its real name is Villa Sceriman. We spent many a Sunday afternoon here enjoying the simple pleasures of a little bit of bread, little bit of cheese and meat, and a sampling of many lovely and inexpensive wines. We might leave with a case of wine having spent $50 all afternoon. One of our favorite wines was a red, bubbly wine that they do not export outside of Italy called Marzemino. I can’t tell you how many bottles we drank over our five years in Italy. It was outrageously priced at $2-3 a bottle if you bought it at the winery.
Verona and the Human Chess Game
Every two years, there is a human chess game in Marostica. You can learn more about attending this great event at the Marostica Scacchi website as well as see some cool video. Eileen and I attended in 1988 although we had a very unique experience.
I was deployed at the time of the human chess game along the Yugoslavian border in Trieste. The exercise had gone extremely well and my boss, MAJ Helmick rewarded me by allowing me to return from the field a couple of days early so Eileen and I could go see the event. My driver and I drove the 3 1/2 hours to get back to Vicenza where I quickly showered from a couple of weeks in the field, changed out of my uniform, and we headed to Marostica in our car. We found a great trattoria and had a relaxing dinner before heading over to the human chess game.
Imagine the picture above completely dark and on the castle wall you see a single archer with a flaming arrow. He shoots the arrow onto the chess board and the outline of each square catches fire. Thus, the pageantry of the human chess game begins. The genesis of the human chess game is well worth the read and part of the charm of the event. The event went several hours which we really enjoyed. We headed home and you would think this would be the end of the story. It is not.
How The Infantry Properly Turn off Expensive Electronics
A couple of hours later, I was awoken by a pounding at the front door. I opened the door to see my boss’s driver. All of the communications were down in the field and I needed to immediately dress, drive 3 1/2 hours back to the field, and fix whatever was causing the problem. The driver was not happy as he had just spent 3 1/2 hours in a cold jeep and he could look forward to another 3 1/2 hours in a cold jeep to drive me back. I put some coffee on for him as I quickly got dressed, packed to remain in the field, and kissed my mostly asleep wife as I headed back to Trieste.
As I arrived, my visibly distraught deputy, John Marriott, met me at the jeep. This has been his opportunity to shine and everything was down. We were being jammed and whoever was jamming us had much more power than we did. I asked where the jammers were and he did not know. I had the team quickly build directional antennas to determine in what direction the attack was coming from and we used some trouble shooting equipment in a novel way to measure how strong the signal was. It was REALLY strong. Whoever was jamming us was really close. We pulled out a map and the most logical location was about a mile away. We were briefly puzzled as if this was part of the exercise, the jammers were cheating and operating behind enemy lines. Incensed and quite sleep-deprived, I found my boss and told him we had diagnosed the problem and I needed an infantry platoon to resolve the issue. He was puzzled by my request until I told him with an infantry platoon, this issue would be resolved in 30 minutes and no, he did not want to know how I was going to resolve a communications issue with an infantry platoon. He smiled sagely and an eager platoon from the reserves led by a Sergeant First Class was ready within 30 minutes.
I led the platoon over to the suspected jamming location and found a national guard military intelligence unit. They had carefully set up their site and those jammers were humming. It was about 5 AM and we quickly found the commanding officer. I gave him two options:
- He could turn off the jammers for remainder of the exercise considering their part had been a tremendous success or,
- the infantry platoon would immediately assault the site and the hostile jammers would be turned off in such a way that they would not work for the remainder of the exercise and perhaps never work ever again.
The threat was real. The commanding officer laughed and noted that the unit should go see Venice. The equipment was turned off quickly and all of our communications immediately returned. Imagine that. I got to spend the next several days in the field with perfect communications.
Florence
Our favorite Italian city was Florence and like Venice and Rome, we have been here 20 or more times. Our second Italian home in Crespina was about an hour away and we would just jump on the train and head into Florence. We once even stayed at an inexpensive hotel for the weekend so we could roam more deeply. While we ranged over the entire city but we particularly enjoyed the Arno River near Ponte Vecchio and the Uffizi gallery. There are priceless treasures here such that you could spend an entire week and still not see everything. Take the Uffizi Gallery. You walk into the Botticelli Room and there are several paintings including the Birth of Venus and the Primavera. Everyone has seen the Birth of Venus in a book but it completely different in person when it is 68 x 110 inches. The genius of the work just makes you stop in your tracks and before you know it, you are being poked by your wife because you have not moved in 30 minutes. The same is true for the Primavera. It is perfectly balanced and nuance within nuance. Another 30 minutes have passed and you are still in the same room having taken in two paintings.
Other favorite sites included the Florence Cathedral (known by The Duomo of Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral or Florence Cathedral)and especially if you climbed up high. We just called it the Duomo. The fabled Baptistery of Saint John is another one of the sites that makes you pause at the mastery of work and ponder who had this idea for a door? Then you think who had the resources to fund such a door and building.
My favorite book in my 20s and 30s was Dante’s Divine Comedy. I have read all three poems multiple times and when in Florence, you visit his tomb.
We frequently moved across the Arno and visited the Boboli palace gardens across the Arno. While it is really not that far of a walk, we would always stop for wine and sustenance to prepare for the gardens. Like Venice, we have paintings that we purchased from street vendors after visiting the city several times and several rounds of negotiations.
